European giants want to sign Chelsea star Marc Cucurella this summer - Reports

Chelsea star Marc Cucurella is attracting interest from La Liga giants Atletico Madrid ahead of the summer transfer window, according to The Evening Standard.

The Blues are under pressure to balance their books after spending over £600 million across the past two windows. They ideally need to sell players before June 30 to include the sales in their accounts for the 2022-23 season and avoid facing sanctions.

Selling academy graduates like Mason Mount, Conor Gallagher and Ruben Loftus-Cheek would help Chelsea raise funds quicker as it would represent pure profit in the accounts. However, there are also other players the London giants could sell to balance their books.

According to the aforementioned source, the Stamford Bridge outfit could offload as many as 12 players this summer. Edouard Mendy, Christian Pulisic, Hakim Ziyech and Kai Havertz could leave the club.

Cucurella is one another player the Blues could sell the raise funds ahead of the 2023-24 season, as per the report. The left-back's future in London is in doubt with Atletico Madrid interested in snapping him up.

It is worth noting that Cucurella only joined Chelsea from Brighton & Hove Albion for a deal worth up to £62 million last summer. The Premier League giants could offload the Spain international just one year after signing him if they receive a suitable offer.

Cucurella, 24, moved to Stamford Bridge following an impressive season at Brighton, where bagged one goal and two assists in 38 games across competitions. However, he has struggled to maintain those standards with the Blues.

The Spaniard played 33 games across competitions for the west London outfit in his debut season but struggled to cement his place in the starting lineup. Fitness issues, meanwhile, did not help his cause. The defender missed the team's last seven games of the campaign due to a muscle injury.

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How did Marc Cucurella fare in his last start for Chelsea?

Marc Cucurella's last start for Chelsea came in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinals against Real Madrid. The Blues succumbed to a 2-0 defeat that day and lost the tie 4-0 on aggregate.

The Atletico Madrid target started on the left flank in Frank Lampard's 3-4-2-1 formation. He picked up a yellow card in the first half and was later replaced by Mykhaylo Mudryk in the 68th minute.

Cucurella, who had a largely underwhelming outing, made one clearance and interception during his time on the pitch. He only won two of the five duels he competed in, with only two of Chelsea's outfield starters faring worse.

The former Brighton man, meanwhile, had 65 touches and completed 36 passes with 90% accuracy, including one key pass. However, he lost possession 13 times, with only Reece James faring worse, and also missed one big chance.