Barcelona are eager about re-signing Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella and have been discussing the thought with intent in recent days, based on reports in Spain.
Cucurella is in his fourth season with Chelsea having joined the club from Brighton for a fee of £63million back in 2022 – a deal that made him the most costly left-back in football history.
In that point, he has made 158 appearances in all competitions for the Blues, bouncing back from a tricky debut season to assist the club win the Europa Conference League and the Club World Cup.
But doubts have intensified over Cucurella’s Stamford Bridge future in recent weeks, with the Spaniard criticising Chelsea’s decision to part ways with Liam Rosenior’s predecessor, Enzo Maresca, and highlighting an absence of experience within the squad.
Rosenior’s dismissal only added to the sensation of instability and uncertainty in west London, before interim boss Calum McFarlane steered Cucurella and Co into this 12 months’s FA Cup final with victory over Leeds last weekend.
Nevertheless, questions remain over Cucurella’s commitment to Chelsea beyond the summer, with the full-back himself fuelling speculation regarding a switch to the Camp Nou last month.
Asked a couple of proposed return to his homeland, Cucurella replied: ‘Spain is at all times Spain. It’s where I grew up and you usually take into consideration going back.
‘But I might [prefer to] leave it for a number of years down the road. I’m very glad here and it’s an incredible life experience.’
Pressed specifically a couple of potential move to Barca, where he got here through the ranks as a teen, Cucurella added: ‘It is evident if that situation did arise, it is difficult to show down, but I might have to contemplate it in the long run.
‘It is just not just me, I also must take into consideration my family and together we might have to make a decision what’s best for us.
‘As I actually have said before, without delay I’m not eager about that. If it comes, it’ll come, and we are going to see what decision is made.’
In keeping with El Chiringuito de Jugones, the rumours over Cucurella’s future are more likely to persist through the summer, with Barcelona said to be keening on signing their former player and holding international discussions in regards to the 27-year-old.
‘There’s a player who knows Barca well, he got here through their youth academy, and that’s Cucurella,’ well-known Spanish commentator Jota Jordi claimed on Monday night’s programme.
‘Barcelona been talking in regards to the player within the offices for a few days now.’
Coincidentally, Cucurella has travelled to Spain this week to observe the tennis on show on the Madrid Open, together with Chelsea team-mates Enzo Fernandez and Joao Pedro and their partners.
Fernandez’s future has also been subject to debate and speculation in recent weeks after the midfielder flirted with the thought of a move to Real Madrid through the last international break.
The controversial remarks saw Fernandez dropped for 2 matches by Chelsea, however the Argentinian roared back with the decisive goal on Sunday because the Blues overcame Leeds to achieve this 12 months’s FA Cup final.
In his post-match interview with TNT Sports, Chelsea interim manager McFarlane singled Fernandez out for special praise, crediting the 25-year-old ‘warrior’ with being the ‘deciding factor’ in the competition.
‘He can definitely do what you would like from a tactical perspective but I feel today probably the most impressive thing about him was when the tactics went out the window and Leeds were on top, he’s only a fighter and a warrior,’ McFarlane said.
‘We don’t must have the right game-plan in those moments because he’ll run, compete, tackle and drive players on.
‘In order that’s what I assumed was probably the deciding think about the sport.’
Cucurella’s current contract at Stamford Bridge is as a consequence of expire in June 2028
Fernandez, who has also been linked with Manchester City this week, has six years remaining on his deal in west London.
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