Marc Cucurella adds his name to the rumor mill
· Yahoo Sports
We’re in the middle of the last international break of the season before the start of this summer’s main event, the World Cup Silly Season, so it’s not at all surprising that we’ve been seeing more stories in the rumor mill than usual — especially when combined with Chelsea’s current malaise, on and, seemingly, off the pitch.
And with the players released into the wilds of international media, they’re also being asked more leading questions than usual. Some, like Moisés Caicedo and Malo Gusto, have still shut doors that were thus opened for them. Others, like Enzo Fernández and, now, Marc Cucurella, have poked their head through … if for nothing else, just to see what the weather’s like on the other side.
Visit newsbetsport.bond for more information.
When asked in Monday’s pre-match press conference ahead of Spain’s friendly against Egypt, Cucurella didn’t rule out a potential return to his native land, especially to Catalunya, where he was born.
“You always think about going back [to La Liga]. [But] I’m very happy there (in England), and so is my family. I’ll leave it for a few years from now…”
But that “few years” may be a bit fewer if it were Barca calling…
“It would be difficult to refuse. It’s not just about me. I’d have to think about my family. If it happens, it happens, and we’ll see what decision is made.”
-Marc Cucurella; source: Marca via The Standard
Cucurella spent his teenage years at La Masia (after initially joining Espanyol’s academy), and even made his senior Barcelona debut in a 7-minute cameo in a cup match, before going on loan a couple times and eventually deciding to look for a first-team pathway elsewhere — a path that would take him to Brighton and then to Chelsea.
But much like (we’d like to think that) every graduate of Cobham would love to return to Chelsea if given the opportunity, it would certainly be understandable if Cucu would consider making a similar decision and go back home. But that sure seems like just a hypothetical at the moment, and barely one at that.
All that said, Cucurella will turn 28 this summer, and will be entering the final two years of his contract. Even without BlueCo’s fetishization of young, non-prime talent (and our potential profit/loss spreadsheet crisis), those would be ideal conditions to maximize his transfer value. Jorrel Hato could be ready to step up (at left back, not center back).