Chelsea have reached an agreement on personal terms with Brighton left-back Marc Cucurella, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Manchester City had emerged as frontrunners in the race to sign the Spaniard, though it was reported over the weekend that the Premier League champions have walked away from a deal.
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Albion are looking to receive a fee in the region of £50million – while City were hoping to strike a deal worth £40m.
The Seagulls received £50m from Arsenal for Ben White last summer and have used that transfer as a reason for their valuation of Cucurella, noting that they believe the ex-Barcelona man is ‘a rarer and better talent’ than the England international.
It was reported on Monday that Chelsea are ready to ‘hijack’ City’s move for Cucurella, despite the fact Pep Guardiola’s side have stopped negotiations with Brighton.
It truly is hijack season. Earlier in the transfer window, the Blues attempted to ‘hijack’ Arsenal’s move for Raphinha and had a bid accepted by Leeds United.
However, they got a taste of their own medicine when Barcelona swooped in and signed the Brazilian winger, mainly due to the fact the player was doing everything he could to hold out for a move to the Nou Camp.
Barcelona, the cheeky sods, then hijacked Chelsea’s pursuit of Jules Kounde, who joined from Sevilla after the Spanish club left the Blues on read for a few days.
The Catalan side also signed Robert Lewandowski, who the Blues apparently wanted to sign, though it is unclear whether or not this was true. But for the sake of the HIJACKING, we will all agree that Chelsea put absolutely everything into signing the Polish striker before Barca nabbed him.
Furthermore, Tuchel also tried to take Gabriel Jesus from Arsenal at the eleventh hour, but the ex-City man was having none of it and completed his move to north London.
In a bit of a confidence booster, Chelsea are edging closer to the signing of Brighton defender Cucurella.
According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, the Blues have reached a ‘full agreement’ on personal terms with the 24-year-old.
The two Premier League clubs will have ‘direct talks’ on Tuesday in order to agree a fee and get a deal over the line.
Chelsea already have Ben Chilwell and Marcos Alonso at the club, however, the latter is expected to join Barca before the window closes.
Chilwell, on the other hand, missed a large chunk of last season after tearing his ACL.
The west Londoners paid £45m to sign the England left-back from Leicester City, and with Cucurella expected to join for around £50m, it will be interesting to see how Tuchel rotates the two or if one will operate as a left-sided centre-half in his back three.