Chelsea are set to wave goodbye to Marc Cucurella this summer, with the left-back on course to sign for Real Madrid. The Blues missed out on European football last season and will likely pay the price, as clubs across the continent target their best players.
A deal for Cucurella has reportedly been agreed between the two clubs and the transfer is expected to be completed in due course. Chelsea will have to lick their wounds and source a replacement, but who should they be targeting? Express Sport have picked out four potential targets for the two-time European champions.
Having been ushered in to replace Milos Kerkez at Bournemouth last summer, Adrien Truffert has arguably had a better season than the current Liverpool man. Truffert made up part of the Cherries side that qualified for the Europa League and the 24-year-old earned plenty of plaudits along the way. He featured in all 38 of Bournemouth’s Premier League matches, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Chelsea consider making a move for Truffert this summer.
Another player who only joined their current club last summer, Rayan Ait Nouri started off brightly, but suffered an injury early in the season and struggled to retain his spot. By the time he’d returned, Nico O’Reilly had established himself as the starting left-back, with Ait Nouri unable to wrestle his spot in the starting XI. It might be that Chelsea take a punt on Ait Nouri, using the promise of regular game time as a deal breaker.
If Chelsea wanted to go after the next big thing at left back, then look no further than Nathaniel Brown. A goalscorer at the ongoing World Cup, Brown is an adventurous fullback who has dazzled for Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. At 22-years-old, the German has his best years ahead of him, but with a contract that runs until 2030, it could prove a pricey deal to get over the line. Bayern Munich are also pushing hard for his signature, meaning Chelsea would need to act fact.
As such, if Chelsea wanted to keep their powder dry, they could opt for Brown’s team-mate, Alejandro Grimaldo. A fixture of Leverkusen’s title-winning side from 2024, Grimaldo is now into his thirties and has one year left on his contract. It could be a stop-gap route Chelsea decide to go down if they can’t identify – or even convince – an elite star to join this summer.