(Football news) Chelsea are interested in signing Brighton left-back Marc Cucurella after the 24 year old handed in a transfer request last week. Talks between Brighton and Manchester City have come to an end after the Seagulls rejected a bid from the reigning champions and are looking for £50m for their prized asset. Pep Guardiola’s side are now exploring alternate options for Oleksandr Zinchenko’s replacement as they deem the price tag too high for Cucurella.

With Yves Bissouma having joined Tottenham Hotspur for £25m plus add-ons, Brighton are under no pressure to sell Cucurella with the player contractually tied to the club until 2026, having signed a deal in August 2021. He made 35 appearances for Brighton last season after joining from Spanish side Getafe for £15.4m. The Barcelona academy graduate has one cap for the Spanish national team and won the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics with his country’s Under-23 side.

With doubts surrounding the future of Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso, a move for Cucurella would make sense for the Blues. The new ownership at Stamford Bridge could also mean that co-owner Todd Boehly and the consortium could be willing to meet Brighton’s asking price in order to win over the fans. Both Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta have been linked to Barcelona while first choice left-back Ben Chilwell missed the majority of last season due to a knee injury. So far, Chelsea have signed Raheem Sterling from Manchester City for £47.5m and Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli for £33m. 

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