Chelsea are willing to pay £50m for Brighton left-back Marc Cucurella, according to reports in the English media.
Manchester City had been in negotiations to sign the Spanish international but the Premier League champions refused to match the player’s asking price.
However, with Chelsea now seemingly prepared to do just that, supporters on Twitter have been left rather frustrated by the whole situation:
We’ve absolutely fumbled this one
— JJ (@JJ21MCFC) August 1, 2022
They want to be like us so bad
— Domdada (@Domdada12) August 1, 2022
We really strengthened Chelsea and Arsenal without addressing our needs
— Qůack?? (@4pfQuack) August 1, 2022
Wowwww pic.twitter.com/CIQQV46Ot7
— Carrie (@CareCalamia) August 1, 2022
Sold zinchenko without a replacement
— john james (@jj4561908) August 1, 2022
Just pay the 50m
— daryil #freeukraine (@daryiljohnson26) August 1, 2022
Won’t pay the extra 10 million for a player that could be our left back for 8 years or so.
— Thomas Burns (@ThomasBurns369) August 1, 2022
@ManCity please do something..for our sake please
— Edds? (@EddieBartels1) August 1, 2022
Absolutely ridiculous
— KaykySZN??????? (@KaykySZNX) August 1, 2022
Considering that City have a net positive transfer spend this summer, it is somewhat surprising that they ended up penny-pinching in negotiations with Brighton for Cucurella.
It is understandable that Director of Football Txiki Begiristain didn’t want to pay over the odds for the 23-year-old, but the player’s worth is determined by the market. Chelsea’s willingness to pay up means City now have no option but to match their offer or move on to alternatives.
Stuttgart’s Borna Sosa, Borussia Dortmund’s Raphael Guerreiro and Benfica’s Alejandro Grimaldo are said to be the other options that the Citizens are now considering.