Marc Cucurella confirms stance on Chelsea future
- Cucurella has been tipped to leave Chelsea this summer
- Spaniard struggled during his debut season
- Ian Maatsen has returned froman excellent loan with Burnley
By Tom Gott
Chelsea full-back Marc Cucurella has no desire to end his stay at Stamford Bridge this summer despite a challenging debut season.
Cucurella joined from Brighton last summer for an initial £56m, with a further £7m in add-ons, but endured a difficult first year at Chelsea, with a large number of fans wasting little time in turning on the 24-year-old.
New manager Mauricio Pochettino has plenty of options at left-back. Alongside Cucurella, Ben Chilwell is the usual starter, while 18-year-old Lewis Hall made an impact towards the end of last season and 21-year-old Ian Maatsen is back at the club after a sensational loan spell with Burnley.
Pochettino has already acknowledged the logjam at left-back, telling a press conference: "We have cover in the position, but there is nothing guaranteed. Ian and Lewis are younger, but Marc and Chilly are experienced players.
"We will see what happens. Competition can only increase the performances."
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Despite the significant competition for minutes in his position, Cucurella insisted he hopes to remain at Chelsea next season and prove himself to the Blues fans.
"Yes, for sure I want to stay at Chelsea. I am very happy here," he explained.
"It wasn’t an easy season and it was difficult for all the players, we needed time to adapt. You arrive at a big club, you need time to adapt, the results don’t arrive, you feel more pressure and, of course, we are footballer players but we are normal people as well.
"We have problems in our personal lives and people need to understand this as well. This is part of life and these things can improve in the future. I am very happy, I have a lot of energy and I am happy to stay here and do my best for this team and club."
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