Chelsea are in advanced talks to sign Brighton left-back Marc Cucurella and are willing to pay the £50m asking price for the Manchester City target.
The Spaniard handed in a transfer request on Friday in a bid to push through a move to City but the Premier League champions will not pay Brighton’s asking price, with Chelsea now in pole position to sign the 24-year-old.
The Seagulls had previously rejected a £30m bid for the full-back from Pep Guardiola’s side, who are looking for a replacement for Oleksandr Zinchenko after he joined Arsenal.
Cucurella enjoyed a hugely successful first Premier League season after joining from Getafe in a deal worth around £15m last summer and was named Brighton’s player of the season.
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With Marc Cucurella linked with a move away from Brighton in this transfer window, watch his best bits in the Premier League
Brighton do not want to let Cucurella leave and it would take a huge offer for them to sell as he has four years remaining on his contract at the Amex. However, the left-back has now pushed for a move by asking to be sold.
Chelsea have now moved for Cucurella with doubts surrounding the future of left-back Marcos Alonso, with Barcelona reportedly wanting to sign the 31-year-old this summer. Blues captain Cesar Azpilicueta is also wanted by the Spanish giants with the defender having one year left on his deal.
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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola refuses to fuel any speculation about a move for Brighton’s Marc Cucurella
First-choice left-back Ben Chilwell, who joined from Leicester in August 2020 for £50m, missed the majority of last season with a knee injury but has returned to full fitness in pre-season.
Thomas Tuchel’s side have made two signings this summer with the arrivals of Raheem Sterling for £47.5m from City and defender Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli in a £33m deal.
Sky in Italy: Napoli in Kepa talks
Kepa Arrizabalaga comes on prior to the penalty shootout
Napoli are in talks with Chelsea over the loan signing of goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, according to Sky in Italy.
The west London club have indicated they will pay three-quarters of his salary, with discussions centring around a number of bonuses that Chelsea are asking for as part of the deal.
Napoli are currently reluctant to pay them and intermediaries involved in the deal are working to find a solution.
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Substitute Kepa Arrizabalaga was brought on for the penalties but after failing to save any of Liverpool’s 11 kicks, he skied his own to hand Jurgen Klopp’s side victory
Chelsea paid a world record transfer fee for a goalkeeper by signing Kepa for £71.6m from Athletic Bilbao in August 2018.
But the 27-year-old has failed to impress during his time at Stamford Bridge, having made just four Premier League appearances last season as the club’s second-choice behind Edouard Mendy.
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Keep up-to-date with all the latest transfer news and rumours in our dedicated Transfer Centre blog on Sky Sports’ digital platforms. You can also catch up with the ins, outs and analysis on Sky Sports News.
