Chelsea have submitted an official bid worth more than £50m to sign Brighton defender Marc Cucurella.
Thomas Tuchel’s side have been in advanced negotiations with the Seagulls over a deal to sign Cucurella, who was subject of a rejected bid from Manchester City earlier in the transfer window.
The Spaniard submitted a transfer request at Brighton last week as he looks to engineer an exit to a Champions League club and Fabrizio Romano is reporting that Chelsea are now ‘hopeful’ of reaching an agreement.
Cucurella shone during his debut season in the Premier League last term, with his performances seeing the 24-year-old named as Brighton’s Players’ Player of the Season and Player of the Season.
Chelsea have submitted bid worth more than £50m for Marc Cucurella on Tuesday evening. Club now hopeful to reach full agreement with Brighton, still no official answer – Cucurella's pushing to join Chelsea, he wants the move 🚨🔵 #CFC
Levi Colwill, discussed in separated deal. pic.twitter.com/BHIItqbDHj
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 2, 2022
The 24-year-old – who is understood to be keen on a move to Chelsea – will add much-needed defensive depth to the Blues’ squad and excelled both at left wing-back and as a left-sided centre-back in a back three last season.
The departures of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen have made defenders the focus for Tuchel in the transfer window, while left-sided options in Malang Sarr and Marcos Alonso have both been linked with an exit.
Cucurella’s ability to feature in both positions would make the former Getafe defender a valuable asset to Chelsea, following a frustrating summer in the transfer market for Tuchel and his recruitment team.
Brighton and Chelsea are also understood to be negotiating a separate deal that could see Levi Colwill move in the opposite direction to the Amex Stadium.
