Marc Cucurella | Confirmed

[Redo91]

What happens when Chillwell is fit? Strange unless they play three at the back and one of them can fill in at LCB.

 

[Orc]

Cucurella
Chilwell
Alonso
Emerson

Obsessed with left back

Latter 2 will be gone within a week I think.

 

[Rajiztar]

This takes their net spending to 156 million. How on earth is it possible for them to add De Jong to this?

Well last season we had zero net spending.Looks like we want to free up our purse this season to move forward.

 

[Vapor trail]

It's a good signing because the wingbacks are probably the most integral part of Tuchels system. As soon as Chilwell and James got injured it derailed Chelsea's season from what I can recall.

Just astonishing that Roman had to sell the club given the circumstances of Russia / Ukraine, the club have been in negotiations for a new buyer and though this process transcended into the window Chelsea are still having a better summer than United. It's absolutely pathetic.

 

[Infestissumam]

£52m for Ben White, £55m for Cucurella ... they are absolutely taking PL teams to the cleaners. Good on them.

makes you wonder what the asking price for Lamptey would be if they ever agreed to sell him.

 

[TheMagicFoolBus]

What happens when Chillwell is fit? Strange unless they play three at the back and one of them can fill in at LCB.

Seems like that's exactly the plan - right now we have Chilwell / Cucurella as LWB options, Koulibaly / Cucurella as LCB options, and Silva / Koulibaly as CCB options.

Given how mad the schedule will be this year, seems pretty sensible to have high level options. And from next season assuming Silva retires, we have an easy transition with Koulibaly sliding over to the centre and Colwill coming back from loan.

 

[Brophs]

£52m for Ben White, £55m for Cucurella ... they are absolutely taking PL teams to the cleaners. Good on them.

makes you wonder what the asking price for Lamptey would be if they ever agreed to sell him.

£53.5m

 

[Adisa]

Ten Hag was right.

 

[TheReligion]

Seems like that's exactly the plan - right now we have Chilwell / Cucurella as LWB options, Koulibaly / Cucurella as LCB options, and Silva / Koulibaly as CCB options.

Given how mad the schedule will be this year, seems pretty sensible to have high level options. And from next season assuming Silva retires, we have an easy transition with Koulibaly sliding over to the centre and Colwill coming back from loan.

Someone pointed out he’s played only 10 games as a LCB and I also thought that was Koulibaly’s preferred position?

£62m with the add ons for a player and he’s got to start surely?

Another move that seems unplanned and forced to me. It seems Chelsea only became interested when City got him to put a request in. Very reactionary again.

 

[1905]

Someone pointed out he’s played only 10 games as a LCB and I also thought that was Koulibaly’s preferred position?

£62m with the add ons for a player and he’s got to start surely?

Another move that seems unplanned and forced to me. It seems Chelsea only became interested when City got him to put a request in. Very reactionary again.

Feels to me that he's replacing Chilwell as the starting LWB and will take over Sarr's minutes as a LCB if needed. Think a lot of people forget that Chilwell's been out for close to a year now. Getting someone of greater quality, especially with Alonso looking like he's going to Barcelona, was always going to be one of the priorities we needed to fill.

 

[TheMagicFoolBus]

Someone pointed out he’s played only 10 games as a LCB and I also thought that was Koulibaly’s preferred position?

£62m with the add ons for a player and he’s got to start surely?

Another move that seems unplanned and forced to me. It seems Chelsea only became interested when City got him to put a request in. Very reactionary again.

Yeah looks like it's a case of 3 players for 2 spots. Don't think that's egregious - especially as Koulibaly and Silva are hardly spring chickens and managing their workload will be vital.

Honestly I'd be happy to pay anything to see the back of Alonso - our season was completely derailed when Chilwell and James went down, so avoiding that is huge. Think it also takes huge pressure off our attack to have competent options in wide positions - and given our track record of buying strikers I'd almost rather spend elsewhere in supplemental positions that might hopefully improve what we have.

Certainly I'd not fault anyone for being skeptical - but we've also been linked with Cucurella for some time now (apparently we were close to signing him from Getafe).

 

[TheReligion]

Yeah looks like it's a case of 3 players for 2 spots. Don't think that's egregious - especially as Koulibaly and Silva are hardly spring chickens and managing their workload will be vital.

Honestly I'd be happy to pay anything to see the back of Alonso - our season was completely derailed when Chilwell and James went down, so avoiding that is huge. Think it also takes huge pressure off our attack to have competent options in wide positions - and given our track record of buying strikers I'd almost rather spend elsewhere in supplemental positions that might hopefully improve what we have.

Certainly I'd not fault anyone for being skeptical - but we've also been linked with Cucurella for some time now (apparently we were close to signing him from Getafe).

I just can’t see how you pay £62m for a back up player? That’s beyond City levels of spending let’s be honest. Especially when you’re light up front.

Appreciate the need for decent back up on Tuchels WB system but there’s plenty of options at much much less money that could have come in to do that?

 

[TheMagicFoolBus]

I just can’t see how you pay £62m for a back up player? That’s beyond City levels of spending let’s be honest. Especially when you’re light up front.

Appreciate the need for decent back up on Tuchels WB system but there’s plenty of options at much much less money that could have come in to do that?

City spending more on Cancelo when they already had Walker was even crazier I think!

I agree that there were potentially cheaper options for the LWB spot (e.g. Filip Kostic, for instance), but I don't know how many options could also have filled in at LCB, fit an ideal age profile, and had the benefit of being PL-proven.

We're absolutely paying a huge premium, but he'll probably play 2500+ minutes this season for us in the league and be settled going forward as well.

 

[Bluelion7]

This takes their net spending to 156 million. How on earth is it possible for them to add De Jong to this?

We’ll, he said our net spending would be at least 200 million net this window, but upwards of 300 with the right names involved.

Boehly doesn’t do things cheap. Need to have the Bridge and the area around it renovated? He went and hired maybe the foremost architect and project manager in the world for projects like that.

He has some top executives lined up even if Michael Edwards doesn’t go through.

The Dodgers payroll is near 300 mil a year now … just in salary. 26% higher than the Yankees. By far the highest in the sport. He gave a 3 yr 102 m guaranteed contract to Trevor Bauer, arguably their third choice pitcher, a right hander, and 31 years old.

For those that were thinking the money would dry up when Roman left …. You might actually find that he was comparably frugal.

 

[TheReligion]

City spending more on Cancelo when they already had Walker was even crazier I think!

I agree that there were potentially cheaper options for the LWB spot (e.g. Filip Kostic, for instance), but I don't know how many options could also have filled in at LCB, fit an ideal age profile, and had the benefit of being PL-proven.

We're absolutely paying a huge premium, but he'll probably play 2500+ minutes this season for us in the league and be settled going forward as well.

Cucurella will cost more than Cancelo if I’m not mistaken and the deal they made involved Danilo going the other way for a fee?

He’s a good player no doubt but it seems you’ve overpaid massively (City valued him at £30m for example) and he doesn’t really fit straight in the side without disrupting Chilwell or Koulibaly.

I just don’t see any real planning in this window for you guys I really don’t.

 

[roseguy64]

This takes their net spending to 156 million. How on earth is it possible for them to add De Jong to this?

They also still need a striker and are trying to sign Fofana.

 

[Bluelion7]

I just can’t see how you pay £62m for a back up player? That’s beyond City levels of spending let’s be honest. Especially when you’re light up front.

Appreciate the need for decent back up on Tuchels WB system but there’s plenty of options at much much less money that could have come in to do that?

In fairness, word going around is that Cucurella was told he was NOT coming in to be a backup. I think he’s an upgrade on Chilwell, and while I was pleasantly surprised to see Dave extend with us I would be borderline shocked if Alonso was here.

If they thought Alonso was staying, and they could count on Chilwell physically, then I don’t think Emerson would still be here.

 

[Adnan]

£62m (€73.58m) is a ridiculous price and fair play to Brighton for taking Chelsea to the cleaners as they say.

It'll be interesting to see how our new recruit (Malacia) in the same position for the fraction of the price stacks up against Cucurella.

 

[Orc]

They also still need a striker and are trying to sign Fofana.

Think we’re just going to ride with Havertz and Broja unless something suddenly becomes a possibility near the deadline. There just aren’t any strikers that stand out this summer.

 

[TheReligion]

In fairness, word going around is that Cucurella was told he was NOT coming in to be a backup. I think he’s an upgrade on Chilwell, and while I was pleasantly surprised to see Dave extend with us I would be borderline shocked if Alonso was here.

If they thought Alonso was staying, and they could count on Chilwell physically, then I don’t think Emerson would still be here.

Yes I can’t imagine he’s coming in as back up but then it begs the question is it worth spending mega money on a full back when you have Chilwell to play that position who is £50m and has been decent enough when fit?

Surely the sensible thing would have been to pick up a good quality deputy for a third of the price of Cucurella and spend the money elsewhere?

Seems an odd one to me unless Tuchel doesn’t trust Chilwell anymore.

 

[Shinjch]

Insane fee. Fair play to Brighton, they are decent operators in the market and they saw Todd and his chequebook coming.

 

[Alemar]

Insane fee. Fair play to Brighton, they are decent operators in the market and they saw Todd and his chequebook coming.

Brighton have a lot of money now. Do they want Bissaka, Tuanzebe, Brandon Williams or Chong?

 

[TheMagicFoolBus]

Cucurella will cost more than Cancelo if I’m not mistaken and the deal they made involved Danilo going the other way for a fee?

He’s a good player no doubt but it seems you’ve overpaid massively (City valued him at £30m for example) and he doesn’t really fit straight in the side without disrupting Chilwell or Koulibaly.

I just don’t see any real planning in this window for you guys I really don’t.

Good point re: Danilo - had forgotten about him. Definitely inflated transfer fees were involved to cover shady Juve bookkeeping.

Agreed that we're overpaying, but I don't think to a ludicrous degree - Brighton think he's better than White who went for £50m, and if all the add-ons kick in it bodes well for his tenure at the club.

I also don't disagree about the extent to which we've planned for this window, but given the regime change and Marina et al walking out this was always going to be the case. I highly doubt this will be the case going forward - and even during this chaotic period we seem to be doing a good job of identifying good players to target. For me this is an important distinction compared to FSG when they first took over Liverpool - buying the likes of Stewart Downing and Andy Carroll based solely on crosses made and converted, for instance.

 

[TheReligion]

Good point re: Danilo - had forgotten about him. Definitely inflated transfer fees were involved to cover shady Juve bookkeeping.

Agreed that we're overpaying, but I don't think to a ludicrous degree - Brighton think he's better than White who went for £50m, and if all the add-ons kick in it bodes well for his tenure at the club.

I also don't disagree about the extent to which we've planned for this window, but given the regime change and Marina et al walking out this was always going to be the case. I highly doubt this will be the case going forward - and even during this chaotic period we seem to be doing a good job of identifying good players to target. For me this is an important distinction compared to FSG when they first took over Liverpool - buying the likes of Stewart Downing and Andy Carroll based solely on crosses made and converted, for instance.

I said it earlier that despite the chaos fair play to Boehly for putting up monies and chasing plenty of players.

What more business do you see between now and the close?

 

[TheMagicFoolBus]

I said it earlier that despite the chaos fair play to Boehly for putting up monies and chasing plenty of players.

What more business do you see between now and the close?

I think Fofana seems plausible, and De Jong less so - but frankly can't see both getting done.

For me the bigger concern is outgoings - Alonso should be gone (possibly as some sort of makeweight to help Barca with their books re: De Jong?), and beyond that the likes of Barkley, Batshuayi, Gilmour, Kenedy, Sarr, etc. need to be sorted out. If De Jong does sign, we almost certainly have to get rid of at least one starting midfielder - likely money is on Jorginho going to Juve.

Frankly I'd also explore the market on Kante - Gallagher is obviously not the same calibre of player but he can fill a similar role. If our midfield next year is Kovacic / De Jong / Gallagher / RLC / Chukwuemeke I think that's more than adequate.

 

[TheReligion]

I think Fofana seems plausible, and De Jong less so - but frankly can't see both getting done.

For me the bigger concern is outgoings - Alonso should be gone (possibly as some sort of makeweight to help Barca with their books re: De Jong?), and beyond that the likes of Barkley, Batshuayi, Gilmour, Kenedy, Sarr, etc. need to be sorted out. If De Jong does sign, we almost certainly have to get rid of at least one starting midfielder - likely money is on Jorginho going to Juve.

Frankly I'd also explore the market on Kante - Gallagher is obviously not the same calibre of player but he can fill a similar role. If our midfield next year is Kovacic / De Jong / Gallagher / RLC / Chukwuemeke I think that's more than adequate.

I would be surprised if you pick up De Jong personally but you’ve had a random window so far so you never know!

Doesn’t feel like a priority to me, or realistic whilst you have Kante, Jorginho, Kovacic and Gallagher all on the books who want game time. It looks like Chukwuemeke has been picked up to groom as a replacement for one of Kante/Jorginho next season and similarly with Hutchinson (although he doesn’t have the PL experience yet so may be a slower burner). Then there’s Gilmour and RLC..

Just don’t see the scope this window. If you were prepared to pay big you’d have sorted the impasse out by now rather than waiting around I imagine.

I sense you’re keeping an eye on things but aren’t really fully committed. This window you have been quite gung-ho with bids flying in so don’t see why this would be any different.

 

[RuudTom83]

50 million seems to be the current starting price for everyone remotely decent.

Crazy fees but it does stunt the fast track progress of the richer clubs if it costs a fortune just to amass an ok team, never mind a capturing a WC player.

 

[Devil_forever]

We’ll, he said our net spending would be at least 200 million net this window, but upwards of 300 with the right names involved.

Boehly doesn’t do things cheap. Need to have the Bridge and the area around it renovated? He went and hired maybe the foremost architect and project manager in the world for projects like that.

He has some top executives lined up even if Michael Edwards doesn’t go through.

The Dodgers payroll is near 300 mil a year now … just in salary. 26% higher than the Yankees. By far the highest in the sport. He gave a 3 yr 102 m guaranteed contract to Trevor Bauer, arguably their third choice pitcher, a right hander, and 31 years old.

For those that were thinking the money would dry up when Roman left …. You might actually find that he was comparably frugal.

I thought he was in sports for the money? Did he actually say upto £300m net in an interview?

 

[TheMagicFoolBus]

I would be surprised if you pick up De Jong personally but you’ve had a random window so far so you never know!

Doesn’t feel like a priority to me, or realistic whilst you have Kante, Jorginho, Kovacic and Gallagher all on the books who want game time. It looks like Chukwuemeke has been picked up to groom as a replacement for one of Kante/Jorginho next season and similarly with Hutchinson (although he doesn’t have the PL experience yet so may be a slower burner). Then there’s Gilmour and RLC..

Just don’t see the scope this window. If you were prepared to pay big you’d have sorted the impasse out by now rather than waiting around I imagine.

I sense you’re keeping an eye on things but aren’t really fully committed. This window you have been quite gung-ho with bids flying in so don’t see why this would be any different.

Think Gilmour is good as gone - didn't get a squad number for the season so looks likely to go on loan at least or be sold / used as a makeweight.

I agree with your assessment overall about how we've approached the window but I also think this might be down to Boehly and Tuchel essentially having to cobble this together on the fly - I'd suspect our approach subsequently will look very different (and if the rumours about us getting Edwards in are true that'd make sense). Side note - this is why notions that Tuchel might be sacked seem misguided.

I think your instinct that we've been dipping our toes in many pools is spot on. Like I said, I'm still unconvinced that De Jong to Chelsea is on (especially if we don't start casting off midfielders like it's going out of style), but I wouldn't be dumbstruck if we swooped in.

 

[TheMagicFoolBus]

I thought he was in sports for the money? Did he actually say upto £300m net in an interview?

He's not focused on penny-pinching - he's said in multiple interviews that he wants first and foremost to field a competitive side and to be engaged with supporters. He's a true genius at identifying and pulling through potential commercial opportunities, but has been more than willing to operate at a loss in order to improve and/or maintain the team.

I don't believe that the 300m figure has been a quote attributable to him, but that's about what we could spend given our FFP status.

 

[Bastian]

50 million seems to be the current starting price for everyone remotely decent.

Crazy fees but it does stunt the fast track progress of the richer clubs if it costs a fortune just to amass an ok team, never mind a capturing a WC player.

Nah, it's the badly run clubs that are paying those prices.

 

[Orc]

Nah, it's the badly run clubs that are paying those prices.

Nope. Fullback has become such a key position that prices have ballooned. Well run teams and poorly run teams alike spend mega money on fullbacks now.

City, Chelsea, United, PSG, Bayern. It seems £50m is the baseline for a top class fullback now.

 

[ZolaWasMagic]

I said it earlier that despite the chaos fair play to Boehly for putting up monies and chasing plenty of players.

What more business do you see between now and the close?

At a minimum CB and attacker. That's assuming Werner [most likely of the 2]/Ziyech go. I think more along the striker lines though, as oppose to wide man. Won't be Aubameyang. Fofana I am 50-50 on. I can see Leicester playing hardball, but i can also see them caving in if we bid Maguire sized money. And I reckon Fofana will push to come to us, if he hasnt already started making noises internally to the board. So I'm 50-50 as said, but if i was a betting man, id say it'll happen in the end

I suppose if Kepa goes, a backup GK will be needed because i dont think TT would want Bettinelli as number 2. Didn't get a single minute even in pre-season. So perhaps looking at 2 first team additions, and backup GK. FdJ I dont doubt the interest but i cannot see it happening, then again the way Boehly is going, who knows.

I'm also getting the feeling Boehly may be the kind of owner who loves deadline day and the chaos of throwing bids around, so I could see some of our business going right to the very last day

 

[OmarUnited4ever]

Huge money for Cucurella, but City were interested and pulled back, Brighton had no intention to sell him at all, he signed a 5 years deal last season when he joined, so Chelsea had to offer a premium fee if they wanted Brighton to negotiate.

 

[ayushreddevil9]

Looks like an excellent signing tbf.

 

[Zaphod2319]

Important to remember that Chilwell is not full recovered, and no idea how long a full recovery will take. So in reality we would have started the season playing a still injured player at wingback or a player you would need to hope plays his very best to just be serviceable in a match. The reality is we needed this transfer.

 

[simonhch]

Looks a really good player, but 62m, good grief.

 

[ThatsGreat]

Looks like the pre season form shook them

 

[Swordsman]

Barcelona hijacked Chelsea's deal, Chelsea hijacked City's deal

 

[Bluelion7]

People are acting like this is a lot. But who knows what the triggers are. So comparing as a base of 52, Cancelos 60 mil was 3 full years and a heavy amount of inflation later. You will see bang average players going for more than that. We paid 35 mil for Danny Drinkwater. With years and inflation …. Basically the same price for one of the best young wingbacks in the world as we did for a finished product we knew was average.

Boehly is also famous for his organizational structure and his farm systems (academies). So eventually, whether through Edwards or others, you will see a strong unified system in place with a clear direction. And low key we are signing some of the best 16, 17, and 18 year olds right now in this window to keep the academy humming.

But right now we need to buy, and teams that want to be competitive better understand real quick that 50 mil IS a bargain. As inflationary forces keep pushing, unemployment drops, economies try to recover, and upper income tax rates in Europe rise to meet circumstance … the “average” for quality players (not super stars) will edge closer to 100 mil, especially if you factor in agent fees. That’s just reality.