Brighton defender Marc Cucurella is pushing for a move to Man City this summer after handing in a transfer request, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.
The Spaniard, who came through the youth ranks at the Camp Nou, made one senior appearance for the Barcelona first team in 2017 before being loaned out to Eibar and Getafe in season-long spells.
He finally made a permanent move away from Barcelona in 2020 when Getafe forked out €6m for him, making a total of 85 appearances for the club over his two full seasons there.
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Cucurella also impressed for the Spain under-21s at the time and Brighton took a chance on him for £15m a year ago in a deal that has paid off for both parties.
Brighton recorded an impressive ninth-placed finish in the Premier League last season, while Cucurella’s form has led to interest from English champions Man City.
Seagulls boss Graham Potter has insisted that Cucurella “is happy” despite speculation linking him with a transfer to the Etihad Stadium.
“Yeah, he is happy. It is not easy because there’s speculation, he’s a human being and that is the challenge with footballers when the window is open, you get linked with this and that,” Potter said earlier this week.
“It is what it is. We have a lot of respect for Marc, we like him a lot and we are just helping him enjoy his football.”
But now Romano has claimed that Cucurella isn’t that happy as he has handed in a transfer request at Brighton in order to force his way into Pep Guardiola’s outstretched arms.
Romano tweeted: “Marc Cucurella has just handed in a transfer request at Brighton. No agreement between Manchester City and Brighton on the price, negotiations are difficult but still ongoing. #MCFC Final decision on clubs side expected soon as there’s still a big gap in valuations.”
Despite the differences of opinion in terms of valuations, former Premier League defender Alan Hutton reckons Man City will “hold out as long as possible” to get their top target.
On Cucurella, Hutton told Football Insider: “They seem as if they’ve identified him as the number one target.
“I think they’ll try and hold on for as long as possible. I thought he was excellent last season in the Brighton team, he loved getting forward, he was tenacious, everything that Pep Guardiola likes.
“With Zinchenko going, [Nathan] Ake, these types of players, it’s one of those that…
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