Marc Cucurella is an enigma. He’s a player that I think many have never thought to be good enough and has often been a liability.
I don’t think many would have been upset if he left the club last summer, and remember, Chelsea tried to loan him out to Manchester United and that deal was super close to going through until Mauricio Pochettino decided to start him against Wimbledon in the cup and then tied him, forcing United to pull out.
This summer, sources have always expected Chelsea to be looking to sell Cucurella and again, I don’t think many Chelsea fans would have been too upset to see him go.
But, in the last few games he has been absolutely vital to Chelsea’s top performances and great results. Mauricio Pochettino deserves big credit for this too, because in the second half against Aston Villa, it was moving Cururella to the inverted full back role that led our comeback. And then using him there again in our 2-0 win against Tottenham, and then yesterday’s 5-0 thrashing of West Ham, has been absolutely pinnacle to these recent three great performances.
I’ve always seen Cucurella to be a tenacious player, but sometimes that has often been a weakness for him as well as a strength. I’ve often seen him like a little Jack Russell dog, snapping away at heels, going in full effort, head down, and often being way too clumsy and over-committing. He’s often been a bit headless and his over-efforts have led to Chelsea’s defence being much more vulnerable at times.
But playing as a centre midfielder in possession has seen a new born Cucurella, and his role has become super important.
I rated him when he joined, I always remember saying that. I enjoyed him in Spain before he joined Brighton, and I thought he was also very good when he first came to the Premier League. Sure, we overpaid for him, but I was always for this signing.
I’m not going to ignore how poor he has been in a Chelsea shirt, because at times he has been consistently very poor. But you have to give him big props for these last three games and maybe, just maybe, this is where you get the best out of him?
Asking him to bomb up and down the wing just isn’t his game. By doing this he loses concentration much quicker and easier, and this is when we are left vulnerable. But this move contains him more and he knows exactly what his role is when he steps inside in possession.
This is where his tenacity and technical ability on the ball shines through. He is so comfortable receiving the ball in tight spaces and making smart quick passes.
I also love his attitude and his mentality – something that we have lacked in this squad this season.
And we also have to give credit to the intelligence needed to be able to take the instructions to play in this role, knowing when to step inside, when to keep position on the left, when to join the possession play, when to mark and defend, and when to join attacks. It’ takes a lot, and it takes a smart player, something that many have said Cucurella is not. It’s so important to acknowledge this and how well he has done to shine in this role. So fair play Marc, fair play indeed.
So, with all that said, should we still be looking to sell Cucurella this summer? Or should we keep him? Should we be looking to sell Ben Chilwell instead? Or should we just be looking to keep both?
Chelsea have a shortlist of potential new left backs and this is one of the areas they are potentially looking to buy in this summer.
Personally, I still want to see us get a new starting left back, I truly think we still need it. And I’ve been split for a while which left back I’d like to see sold, and this little rebirth of Cucurella has only made me even more split on this. I’m on the fence about all of this, how about you? Let us know in the comments…