Sky Sports pundit Alan Smith believes Chelsea would have thought about Marc Cucurella’s replacement prior to his departure
The Spanish international officially joined Real Madrid earlier this week, and speaking exclusively to Chelsea News (courtesy of Best Betting Sites UK), Smith said he feels that manager Xabi Alonso would have been fully consulted on the plan:
“It surprised me a little bit, but then not a lot. With the owners, you never quite know how they’re thinking. And they’ve just brought Xabi Alonso in, and you’d like to think that he’s involved in the discussions to let Cucurella go. And maybe they’ve spoken about the replacement already.”
“So they’ve made a profit on him, which is important for the owners. And he’s a very good player; there’s no doubt about that, Cucurella, so it leaves a hole. Hato did well at the left back slot at the end of the season, but they need somebody else to come in there. I’m sure Alonso’s involved in that as well.”
Who could replace Cucurella at Chelsea?
Real Madrid actually have a player that Chelsea are interested in, Alvaro Carreras, but reports in Spain claim that the left-back won’t be leaving the Bernabeu this summer.
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Sporting Lisbon’s Maxi Araujo and former player Lewis Hall are also said to be targets, although the latter could cost a considerable amount to bring back to Stamford Bridge, with Newcastle wanting more than £60m.
Alonso’s choice of system will influence who the club pursue
If the manager does decide to utilise the 3-4-3 formation that worked so well for him at Bayer Leverkusen, than a wingback could be brought in instead of a traditional left-back.
Some have speculated that Alonso could raid his former club to sign Alejandro Grimaldo, although the likes of Araujo and Carreras, as well as Juventus’s Andrea Cambiaso, would be a good fit for that system too.