Chelsea are willing to listen to offers for defender Marc Cucurella ahead of a possible January transfer move.
Cucurella joined Chelsea for £62 million from Brighton and Hove Albion in the 2022 summer transfer window but has failed to lock down a place in the starting 11.
He made only his second appearance of the season last night against his former club but has yet to play a single Premier League minute.
Amidst talks of him leaving in the summer, Cucurella said in an interview that he wanted to stay at the club and fight for his place.
However, Pochettino, just like his predecessors, has favoured Ben Chilwell in that position, and it is believed Cucurella likely prefers to move on from the club in search of more game time.
Chelsea were ready to allow the 25-year-old to join Manchester United on loan this summer but the deal collapsed after Cucurella played in the club’s previous Carabao Cup tie against AFC Wimbledon.
FIFA regulations stipulate that a player cannot represent three clubs in a single season and given Manchester United wanted to insert a break clause in any deal to allow them to return Cucurella to Chelsea, talks broke down.
Reports in Spain have linked Real Madrid with a possible loan bid in January and the prospect of returning to his birth country could be appealing to the Spaniard.
Manchester United are unlikely to re-enter the race for Cucurella as they signed compatriot Sergio Reguilón on loan from Tottenham Hotspur.
According to sources close to Chelsea, the Blues would prefer a permanent transfer for Cucurella to help balance the books after spending hundreds of millions in the summer transfer window.
