28 August 2023 , 12:45
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Chelsea wing-back Marc Cucurella is on Manchester United’s shortlist for a late summer deal – but the Spaniard has already spoken out about the ‘pressure’ of playing at bigger clubs.
Cucurella struggled at Stamford Bridge after a landmark £56million transfer from Brighton last summer. He failed to hit his top form throughout the campaign despite being reunited with his former Seagulls boss Graham Potter for six months during the season.
Despite brief highs – including a Man of the Match performance in the Champions League Round of 16 victory over Borussia Dortmund – it was a campaign of struggle for Cucurella, who was booed by his own fans during a February draw against West Ham.
The 25-year-old then lost his place in the Blues starting line-up in the closing weeks of the campaign to youngster Lewis Hall, despite injury struggles for Ben Chilwell. The return of the England international has pushed him down the pecking order further, opening up the possibility of a move.
United are on the lookout for a new left-back due to injuries to Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia, while Brandon Williams has left Old Trafford to join Ipswich on a season-long loan deal. Diogo Dalot, primarily a right-back, deputised in the position in Saturday’s home win over Nottingham Forest.
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Yet Cucurella – who progressed through Barcelona ’s youth system but only played once at senior level, before starring at Eibar, Getafe and Brighton – has spoken of the added pressure to perform at bigger clubs, which can change a player’s mindset compare to others with lower expectations.
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Cucurella struggled during his debut campaign at Chelsea after starring for Brighton (Federico Guerra Maranesi/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
"I play all my career in a [smaller] club so we don't have this pressure," Cucurella told ESPN earlier this summer. "When you come to these big clubs, you feel this pressure and sometimes it is not easy to play with this pressure because you know you need to win every game.
"Sometimes you need to adapt as well to these situations, but this is part of life. Sometimes you have good years, bad years, but the most important thing is to learn and have energy to improve."
This may be relevant to United’s interest – the club who have the largest following of any Premier League club and who generate more noise than any other. Barcelona’s Marcos Alonso and Rico Henry of Brentford are other options being weighed up by the Red Devils.