Marc Cucurella has been one of the unfortunate members of the Chelsea squad that has faced plenty of criticism this season. The former Brighton star made the switch to west London for £62million in the summer as deputy to Ben Chilwell but has played nearly every game this campaign.
Chilwell's ongoing injury concerns have meant the 24-year-old has played all but two of the Blues' 21 Premier League games for Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter. His versatility to play on the left flank and on the left as a back three, as he often did so well with Brighton, made him a clever purchase by Todd Boehly.
However, the left-back has struggled for form since making the move to Stamford Bridge, even with former boss Potter at the helm. After registering two assists in his first four games, the Spaniard has not directly been involved in a goal since and has struggled to contain a number of Premier League wingers.
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Most recently, Fulham's Bobby Decordova-Reid enjoyed some success against Cucurella after he was heavily criticised for his performance against Manchester City last month. "For me I was not happy with Cucurella in that second half, right until when he came off. When you're talking about the price tag: he can't defend," Jamie Carragher said on Sky Sports.
"I was watching him in the game, one vs one, and when we talk about someone who can’t defend, I think someone who doesn’t want to defend is actually worse. It looked to me like he didn’t want to defend in one vs one situations."
With Chilwell making his first appearance since November last weekend, Cucurella's place in Potter's side is in danger. And former Chelsea man Frank Leboeuf has slammed the club's decision to spend so much on the former Barcelona defender.
"Hopefully Reece James and Ben Chilwell will go back into fitness as soon as possible because we need them," Leboeuf told ESPN (via the Daily Express). "We don't want to see Cucurella anymore. With all due respect to a 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 doesn't belong to this level."
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