Frank Leboeuf lambasted Marc Cucurella as he believes that the player doesn’t belong at Chelsea
Since joining Chelsea in the summer from Brighton & Hove Albion, Marc Cucurella’s performance at the club has received scathing criticism at times.
Chelsea paid £63 million to acquire the left-back from Brighton, but the player hasn’t lived up to the price tag. Due to Ben Chilwell’s persistent injuries at the club, the former Brighton player was purchased as a replacement.
Nevertheless, fans may now want the club to hunt for a new left-back in the summer as the 24-year-old hasn’t looked promising. This is, of course, something only time will tell because it won’t be easy to give up on Cucurella just yet given the investment we made recently.
Despite making 19 appearances in the Premier League, the Spanish international hasn’t looked at home with enough game time, and what is more surprising is that only three players have played more minutes than Cucurella.
Cucurella has also been tried out at left wing-back, left back in a back four, and left centre-back in a back three by Graham Potter.
Frank Leboeuf, a former Chelsea defender appeared angered by Cucurella’s contributions and was forthright in his criticism of the player in an interview with ESPN (h/t Metro). He said:
“Reece James and Chilwell are going to go back into fitness asap because we need them, because we don’t want to see Cucurella anymore.
“With all due respect for the man—that I don’t know—the player is not good enough for Chelsea. It’s as simple as that. It’s crazy that they signed him for £60m or £70m, but we can see that he does not belong to that level.”
Even more frustrating is that Potter who managed Cucurella at Brighton has been unable to help the player find his footing at Chelsea.
However, Cucurella would find it difficult to establish his worth with Chilwell back in the lineup, even though he had plenty of time to develop himself.
Potter could make rotations at left-back as he wouldn’t allow the England international to play the full game unless he is fully fit to play the entire game.
More Chelsea News:
- N’Golo Kante is looking to extend his Chelsea contract after positive talks with the club
- Juventus are considering making a swap deal for Mateo Kovacic and Denis Zakaria
- Chelsea hope to complete the agreement soon for the contract extension of Thiago Silva
Now there will be tough competition for the Spanish left-back as he will have to fight for his spot and it remains to be seen if Cucurella will be able to gain his momentum. Patience could also be key here and he could need another season to establish himself at Chelsea.
But from what we have seen so far, the Spaniard indeed hasn’t looked worth the bucks we paid for him last year.