Chelsea have agreed to sign Brighton and Spain left-back Marc Cucurella for ‘more than £50million’, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Premier League champions Manchester City had made an attempt to sign the 24-year-old but were unable to pay Brighton’s asking price.
Picking the Big Six clubs’ opening-day XIs: Same old Man Utd, Arsenal unchanged
The Citizens have already turned their attention elsewhere and are reportedly close to signing Anderlecht’s Sergio Gomez.
Chelsea, on the other hand, have been on the hunt for defensive reinforcements all summer following the departures of Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger.
They have brought in Kalidou Koulibaly for £34m and missed out on long-time target Jules Kounde, who joined Barcelona.
Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta are expected to follow Christensen and Rudiger out the door amid reported interest from Barca.
Chilwell returned from injury on the last day of the 2021/22 campaign, but his comeback has not put Chelsea off pursuing a deal for Cucurella.
The Spaniard could possibly operate as one of Thomas Tuchel’s three central defenders, with Chilwell playing as a wing-back.
It was reported on Wednesday that Chelsea had been told by Brighton to increase their bid for Cucurella, and it appears they have done just that.
According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, the Blues have had a £52.5m offer accepted by the Seagulls after agreeing personal terms with the ex-Getafe man on Monday.
Cucurella will sign a whopping six-year deal after spending a single season with Premier League rivals Brighton.
Albion were eager to include defender Levi Colwill in the deal, however, that does not appear to have come to fruition.
However, the youngster is still ‘on the verge’ of joining the south coast club in a separate transfer.
Chelsea have asked for a buy-back clause to be included in the deal, which appears to be the reason why it has not gone through yet.
Colwill only signed a new Blues deal last summer, before joining Huddersfield Town on loan for the season.
He helped the Terriers reach the play-off final, where they lost 1-0 to Nottingham Forest after the 19-year-old’s own goal at Wembley.
David Ornstein revealed on Wednesday that Colwill was Brighton’s ‘top target’ as a replacement for Cucurella.
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Football365…