Ashley Cole has urged Xabi Alonso to block Marc Cucurella from leaving Chelsea after the left-back reportedly handed in a transfer request. Cucurella is among several Chelsea players linked with moves away from Stamford Bridge following a disappointing season.
Chelsea were expected to progress under Enzo Maresca after finishing fourth the previous year and winning both the Club World Cup and Conference League. However, the Blues slumped to a 10th-place finish, failing to qualify for any European competition, with both Maresca and his replacement Liam Rosenior losing their jobs during the season.
Alonso's arrival and transfer speculation
Alonso will take over at Stamford Bridge in July, and the former Liverpool and Real Madrid midfielder will aim to strengthen his squad during the summer transfer window. He will also be aware of speculation linking several current Chelsea stars with moves away from west London.
Last month, it was reported that Enzo Fernandez had made it clear he wants to leave amid interest from Real Madrid and Manchester City. Last week, reports in Spain claimed Cucurella had followed suit and essentially submitted a transfer request.
Cucurella has attracted interest from Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, and several Premier League clubs, but legendary left-back Cole believes Chelsea should prevent him from leaving.
Cole's advice on Cucurella
‘I came from Arsenal to Chelsea and I didn’t perform straightaway,’ Cole told the Daily Mail when assessing Cucurella’s development since his £60m move from Brighton in 2022. ‘There was pressure and expectation. Now, Marc Cucurella is someone you should keep. He’s a top performer. I’m not in the dressing room. I don’t know the noise. But if the club want to go forward, you have to keep your top players.’
Cole added: ‘[Jorrel] Hato has performed well when he’s had the opportunity. But why not keep a top competitive squad to compete? You’re going to be constantly chasing the next one. You sell Cucurella, Hato plays, but then you need a solution as a back-up to him, so who will that be?’
The reports in Spain also claimed Chelsea would demand a fee of between 40m and 50m euros (£35m and £43m) if Cucurella’s departure became inevitable.
Joe Cole's perspective
Fellow former Chelsea star Joe Cole also believes the club should keep hold of Cucurella and, if possible, Fernandez. ‘If I’m Xabi Alonso, I want to keep both of them,’ Cole said. ‘I’d rather sell four or five other players to get that money in.’
Chelsea reportedly have several ‘untouchable’ members of their squad, including Cole Palmer, Moises Caicedo, and Reece James. However, Joe Cole does not believe there is a single player Chelsea would not consider selling.
‘Because so much money has been wasted at Chelsea, no player is untouchable, every player has a price, because it’s run as a business,’ he added. ‘Under Roman Abramovich, the club was run to win trophies first, make money second. Now, the club is run to make money first, win trophies second. That’s the truth. You can do both, but you’ve got to be very, very, very good. It’s important to be honest in this current climate. Chelsea fans aren’t silly. They know what’s going on. Let Xabi Alonso do his work, and we move.’
Cucurella's response
Cucurella addressed speculation linking him with a move away from Chelsea ahead of Spain’s World Cup opener against Cape Verde. ‘Right now I don’t want to talk about that,’ Cucurella told El Partidazo de COPE. ‘It’s true that I’m very happy where I am, I’m very happy, my family is very happy. Whatever you do, don’t drive me crazy [with transfer questions]. I don’t like to be burdened with worries. I already have enough with what I have, without adding any more.’
