Chelsea: Pochettino has left £60m star ‘in limbo’ at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella could still leave Stamford Bridge in the coming weeks, as journalist Paul Brown explains to GIVEMESPORT the current situation with the Spanish left-back.

Cucurella has fallen down the pecking order at Chelsea and a move appeared likely during the transfer window.

Chelsea news – Marc Cucurella

Cucurella signed for Chelsea for a fee of £60m from Brighton & Hove Albion last summer, as per Sky Sports. It’s been a difficult start to life at Stamford Bridge for the Spaniard, who could have departed despite spending just over a year at the club. The 25-year-old could be considered one of Chelsea’s biggest flops in recent years, considering the money they forked out to bring him to the club.

Read More: Chelsea’s Worst Signings XI Worth More Than £400m

With Manchester United having a bit of an injury crisis at left-back due to Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia being sidelined, Erik ten Hag was searching for reinforcements in this position. The Red Devils were close to agreeing a deal to sign Cucurella on a season-long loan, before the Manchester club opted to bring in Tottenham Hotspur left-back Sergio Reguilon. In the end, Cucurella failed to agree a move away from Stamford Bridge and remains a Chelsea player for now.

However, Mauricio Pochettino clearly doesn’t fancy the defender considering he was willing to allow him to depart, so it leaves Cucurella in a tricky position. Although the transfer window in England has now closed, clubs in certain countries are still able to sign players, for example, Turkey.

It’s still possible that another club will come in for Cucurella – Paul Brown

Ian Maatsen also remained at the club during the transfer window – a highly-rated left-back at Stamford Bridge. With Ben Chilwell as the starting player in this position, Cucurella isn’t even a guarantee to be second choice, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he was open to a move to a Turkish club.

Brown has suggested that it’s going to be difficult for Cucurella to force his way into the Chelsea side this season. The journalist adds that transfer windows are still open in other countries, so there is a possibility that he could depart. Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Brown said…

“Yeah, the window ended in a very strange way for Cucurella, because I think he genuinely believed he was on his way to Man United, and then he suddenly ended up playing in that cup game, and the move kind of fell apart after that. So I think he’s been left very much in limbo. He was told he could go, but it didn’t happen. So he knows now that he is not really among those players that the manager wants to use, it’s going to be difficult for him. The window is still open in other countries, whether somebody else comes in for him, that’s still possible too, but it’s hard to see him forcing his way into the Chelsea team. He’s going to have to hope for a couple of injuries I think to get back in and get a run.”

It seems best for all parties if Cucurella does now move on. However, there is still a player in there, but Pochettino still seems to trust Chilwell ahead of him at the moment.

Does Cucurella have a chance of displacing Chilwell at Chelsea?

Whatever your opinion of Cucurella and the ability he showed before joining the west London club, he simply hasn’t been able to translate his Brighton performances over to Chelsea. Chilwell has been far from perfect, especially this season, but the former Leicester City defender has a lot of credit in the bank.

Journalist Dean Jones recently told GIVEMESPORT that Cucurella has to up his game. There’s no hiding from the fact that his time at Chelsea has been a disaster, and as shown by the table above, the Blues secure more points when Chilwell is in the side.

Even an injury to Chilwell won’t guarantee Cucurella a starting spot, so it feels like the chances of him becoming a regular under Pochettino are very slim. Although a move to Turkey or another European country might not be of interest to the former Brighton left-back, a departure in January would make sense.