Cucurella at Chelsea

[MayosNoun]

He is allergic to the forward pass.

He is absolutely guaranteed to cause a goal every game he plays. He can have a decent game then he will lose track of a basic run and concede a goal. He is absolutely dreadful at defending the back post also.

I felt he would be better in a 352 but he was just as poor.

No idea if it’s confidence or what but I’d be amazed if we got a buyer for him.

 

[C'est Moi Cantona]

Much as I think there are more Chelsea posts on the Redcafe than their own forum, from the limited activity there it's fair to say they don't rate Cucurella at all. They seem keen for us to do the deal just as long as there is clause inserted so he can play against his parent club.

 

[MayosNoun]

Much as I think there are more Chelsea posts on the Redcafe than their own forum, from the limited activity there it's fair to say they don't rate Cucurella at all. They seem keen for us to do the deal just as long as there is clause inserted so he can play against his parent club.

The Shed End Chelsea forum is moderated by a creep who shouldn’t be allowed near the internet. Question coco and you would be insta banned. They’re armchair fans on there, most who haven’t been near Stamford Bridge.

Cross platform is better for objective debates.

 

[MayosNoun]

Wait what? Man Utd want Cucurella?

I should have read before I commented. This is surely false paper talk. I’d be amazed if this were true.

 

[C'est Moi Cantona]

Wait what? Man Utd want Cucurella?

I should have read before I commented. This is surely false paper talk. I’d be amazed if this were true.

Athletic and Romano reporting our interest.

 

[Zoo]

Wait what? Man Utd want Cucurella?

I should have read before I commented. This is surely false paper talk. I’d be amazed if this were true.

On loan. Don’t get too excited.

 

[MayosNoun]

On loan. Don’t get too excited.

Please say there’s an obligation to buy included.

 

[Ace of Spades]

Please no ffs. We have Dalot who can play there or even Alvaro who was good in the pre-season.

Malacia will also be an option soon, just use the options that we have, doubt they will be any worse than this clown.

 

[sullydnl]

Much as I think there are more Chelsea posts on the Redcafe than their own forum, from the limited activity there it's fair to say they don't rate Cucurella at all. They seem keen for us to do the deal just as long as there is clause inserted so he can play against his parent club.

Understandably so. He was absolutely abysmal any time I saw him play for them last season.

It's just a question of how much stock you put in that one nightmare season versus what went before. It's only last summer City and Chelsea were bidding for him after all, so either they both horrendously misjudged him or he's a lot better than last season suggests.

And this forum seemed to rate him pretty highly too. Just from the opening two pages of last summer's thread on him:

He is quality, above playing at that level with all due respect to Brighton.
He would fit in like a glove at City

Top player. Probably my favourite player outside the top 6

He's quality, be brilliant for city.

An absolute class LB. I have been banging on about him since last season. Desperately hoping for us to sign him. Other than Robertson there is no one better than him this season in my honest opinion and he has levels left as he is still young.

Yup, he looks the part, good dribbler, quick, has an engine, can cross and pass. Certainly one of the best LBs in the league outside Robertson and Cancelo.

Would love him at United.

Excellent player, shame City need a LB otherwise we might have had a shot at getting him.

Good player, tidy etc. Not so sure he is top class though. Probably comparable with Shaw.

Watched him in a good few La Liga games before he went to Brighton. Thought he would have had a good chance returning to Barca, very surprised when he move to Getafe and on to Brighton though, but it's been a good couple of seasons for him. He's developed really well.

He is very good, absolutely killed us when we played them.

He's really good. Reminds me of Rafael when Rafa was actually fit and firing.

An all around fullback with an engine, technique and tenacity. Sigh

Etc etc.

 

[miked99]

Good god, this is a terrifying prospect

 

[C'est Moi Cantona]

Understandably so. He was absolutely abysmal any time I saw him play for them last season.

It's just a question of how much stock you put in that one nightmare season versus what went before. It's only last summer City and Chelsea were bidding for him after all, so either they both horrendously misjudged him or he's a lot better than last season suggests.

And this forum seemed to rate him pretty highly too. Just from the opening two pages of last summer's thread on him:

Well tbf you'd have to put alot of stock into that one season at Chelsea, they were a basket case on all fronts, and paid the price on the pitch, it was hardly just Cucurella that was bad for them.

For a low loan fee, with an option, then I wouldn't say no, even if though I know that he could end up been as bad for us as he was for Chelsea

 

[jakko]

He's beyond appalling both defensively and offensively, but besides that he's a bargain!

Chilwell was just as bad as him last season but you still rate him. Why forget his good season at Brighton?.
Lets not forget Cucurella has personal problems last season too.

 

[VP89]

Please no ffs. We have Dalot who can play there or even Alvaro who was good in the pre-season.

Malacia will also be an option soon, just use the options that we have, doubt they will be any worse than this clown.

Dalot got replaced by Wan Bissaka who was out the door, in his preferred position too. Ten hag appears to like Dalot but it's clear he does not want to depend on him weekly.

Malacia has been injured since the end of last season and his return is believed to still be some way out.

From what I've read about Fernández, he can't defend well.

 

[TheMagicFoolBus]

Chilwell was just as bad as him last season but you still rate him. Why forget his good season at Brighton?.
Lets not forget Cucurella has personal problems last season too.

Well that's just laughably incorrect.

Why does one season two years ago outweigh the far more relevant and recent one? Also he's looked equally awful in preseason - it's very telling that he's the only outfield player in our squad who hasn't gotten a minute yet in the first three games. Poch clearly shares my opinion, since all signs point to him also having functioning eyes.

 

[jakko]

Well that's just laughably incorrect.

Why does one season two years ago outweigh the far more relevant and recent one? Also he's looked equally awful in preseason - it's very telling that he's the only outfield player in our squad who hasn't gotten a minute yet in the first three games. Poch clearly shares my opinion, since all signs point to him also having functioning eyes.

Ben Chilwell was awful last season, because most of our players were poor last season, it was a freak season so your logic there looks stupid. You still rate Mount no? Fofana? Sterling? Gallagher?

 

[Ace of Spades]

Dalot got replaced by Wan Bissaka who was out the door, in his preferred position too. Ten hag appears to like Dalot but it's clear he does not want to depend on him weekly.

Malacia has been injured since the end of last season and his return is believed to still be some way out.

From what I've read about Fernández, he can't defend well.

Neither can this guy, but one won't cost us a years worth of loan fee and stupid wages to be an option. Also, Malacia will be back soon, till then Fernandez just needs to be back up to Dalot.

In any case, he looked fine in pre-season, and cases like this is exactly where you trust your young players.

 

[VP89]

Neither can this guy, but one won't cost us a years worth of loan fee and stupid wages to be an option. Also, Malacia will be back soon, till then Fernandez just needs to be back up to Dalot.

In any case, he looked fine in pre-season, and cases like this is exactly where you trust your young players.

Thing is, Cucurella at Brighton was a beast. The players you've named have never been a beast for us at LB. I don't get the complaint if its a loan deal.

Also you should never ever hang your hat on preseason alone when faced with key positions like this. Fernandez has nothing established, he's only played at Preston.

 

[Chief123]

What was the issue that caused him to look so trash at Chelsea? Just not a conventional left back? Brighton style adorned his strengths?

Chelsea.

 

[TheMagicFoolBus]

Ben Chilwell was awful last season, because most of our players were poor last season, it was a freak season so your logic there looks stupid. You still rate Mount no? Fofana? Sterling? Gallagher?

What on earth are you talking about? Your whole argument is dependent on the absurd premise that "Chilwell was as bad as Cucurella last year". Chilwell missed 4 fecking months due to injury - obviously Chelsea being dogshit was not down to him as much as it was to others.

Unless you're giving Cucurella points for not getting hurt whilst ignoring the actual performances on the pitch, your argument has no basis in reality whatsoever.

 

[TheRedHearted]

Thing is, Cucurella at Brighton was a beast. The players you've named have never been a beast for us at LB. I don't get the complaint if its a loan deal.

Also you should never ever hang your hat on preseason alone when faced with key positions like this. Fernandez has nothing established, he's only played at Preston.

Brighton had a tight system. Same things happens to us at United. We buy players for big fees who are performing great in a solid system, then they come to us in a poor system and we don’t quite get it.

 

[GaryLifo]

Is it possible he's not a world beater, but also he's not awful either if he's in the right system?

Perhaps, and just hear me out here, he's actually a good player and it isn't always that players are either ace or shite and some are, you know, somewhere in between those two polar opposite ratings?

 

[VP89]

Brighton had a tight system. Same things happens to us at United. We buy players for big fees who are performing great in a solid system, then they come to us in a poor system and we don’t quite get it.

I think Brighton had an established system whereas Chelsea didn't. That was the big difference.

 

[TheMagicFoolBus]

I think Brighton had an established system whereas Chelsea didn't. That was the big difference.

This would be a reasonable hypothesis except Chelsea literally hired the manager who implemented the Brighton system. Potter knew exactly how best to use Cucurella and put him in the same situations as he'd done at Brighton but it was a disaster. Countless atrocious performances and mind-blowingly basic errors / lapses in concentration.

All this would be well and good if he was a positive contributor attacking-wise - but one of my favorite Cucurella stats from last year is that he went the whole season averaging ~59 passes per game yet he did not complete a single through ball, he was 37th percentile among fullbacks in switching play, and he was 36th percentile in crosses. The perfect epitomisation of Potter-ball - a total nothing-burger of static and non-threatening possession for the sake of possession.

But definitely yes you should sign him please

 

[Castia]

Cuckurella more like right guys

 

[VP89]

This would be a reasonable hypothesis except Chelsea literally hired the manager who implemented the Brighton system. Potter knew exactly how best to use Cucurella and put him in the same situations as he'd done at Brighton but it was a disaster. Countless atrocious performances and mind-blowingly basic errors / lapses in concentration.

All this would be well and good if he was a positive contributor attacking-wise - but one of my favorite Cucurella stats from last year is that he went the whole season averaging ~59 passes per game yet he did not complete a single through ball, he was 37th percentile among fullbacks in switching play, and he was 36th percentile in crosses. The perfect epitomisation of Potter-ball - a total nothing-burger of static and non-threatening possession for the sake of possession.

But definitely yes you should sign him please

You can't just assume Potter can reimplement the same system at Chelsea under an absolute clown of an owner and absolute scattergun of a transfer policy though. Potters failures are more down to Chelsea being an absolute joke of a club at the time, I back him to go on and find proper success from that.

Back to Cucurella though, he was part of a squad that played drunk, he had 3 managers and a circus of an owner. Prior to that he was probably one of the best if not, the best full back in the Premier League.

We have back up players of our own who are not as established, in fact one our current first choice LB has looked just as bad as Cucurella during his downturns in a United shirt.

 

[Kaos]

If Ten Hag genuinely wants him then we should really expedite the process of getting a DoF.

 

[Sandikan]

If Ten Hag genuinely wants him then we should really expedite the process of getting a DoF.

NO, surely not!

 

[TheMagicFoolBus]

You can't just assume Potter can reimplement the same system at Chelsea under an absolute clown of an owner and absolute scattergun of a transfer policy though. Potters failures are more down to Chelsea being an absolute joke of a club at the time, I back him to go on and find proper success from that.

Back to Cucurella though, he was part of a squad that played drunk, he had 3 managers and a circus of an owner. Prior to that he was probably one of the best if not, the best full back in the Premier League.

We have back up players of our own who are not as established, in fact one our current first choice LB has looked just as bad as Cucurella during his downturns in a United shirt.

What the feck?? That is an insane take, but points for creativity I suppose? Especially since he spent about 40% of that season as a LCB and a further 20-25% as a LWB.

Like I said, I hope you do back him! Enjoy the Cucurella experience - where he dives in needlessly at every opportunity, has never met a backwards pass he didn't love, and will let the opposition run in behind him freely at least once a match. Fingers crossed there's an obligate purchase clause.

 

[VP89]

What the feck?? That is an insane take, but points for creativity I suppose? Especially since he spent about 40% of that season as a LCB and a further 20-25% as a LWB.

Like I said, I hope you do back him! Enjoy the Cucurella experience - where he dives in needlessly at every opportunity, has never met a backwards pass he didn't love, and will let the opposition run in behind him freely at least once a match. Fingers crossed there's an obligate purchase clause.

Its not an insane take to say litetally any player for Chelsea last season was not operating at true potential.

I dont see the issue with him as a loan deal. I don't see Ten Hag trusting a full back who has had similar terrible performances before in Dalot, and is right footed on top. He'd more than likely want a left footer as a LB and for that he needs to go into the market.

 

[TheMagicFoolBus]

Its not an insane take to say litetally any player for Chelsea last season was not operating at true potential.

I dont see the issue with him as a loan deal. I don't see Ten Hag trusting a full back who has had similar terrible performances before in Dalot, and is right footed on top. He'd more than likely want a left footer as a LB and for that he needs to go into the market.

No that's not the insane take, the insane take is that Cucurella was one of if not the best fullback in the league the year before for Brighton when he barely played as an actual fullback for them

 

[sincher]

This is so stupid.

Alvaro Fernandez is a better footballer than Cucurella, both Dalot and Martinez could play there, and Malacia will be back in a few games' time.

Meanwhile we have glaring issues in midfield and attack.

 

[VP89]

No that's not the insane take, the insane take is that Cucurella was one of if not the best fullback in the league the year before for Brighton when he barely played as an actual fullback for them

Ah right yes, poor wording completely for thst I apologize.

 

[TheMagicFoolBus]

Ah right yes, poor wording completely for thst I apologize.

No need to apologise mate - and the funny thing is I completely see where you're going from. A team plays like shit, perhaps there's an opportunity to find a bargain - but honestly, having Clockwork Oranged myself into watching every Chelsea match from last year, I feel pretty comfortable saying that Cucurella was a major reason why we were shit and not an innocent bystander.

Again, I think it's extremely telling that he's the only outfield player in our squad who hasn't gotten minutes. There's an argument he'd fallen to 5th choice LB behind Colwill, Chilwell, Maatsen, and Hall coming into the season.

 

[Marcelinho87]

This is so stupid.

Alvaro Fernandez is a better footballer than Cucurella, both Dalot and Martinez could play there, and Malacia will be back in a few games' time.

Meanwhile we have glaring issues in midfield and attack.

On what basis is Alvaro better?

Dalot, fine. Martinez we need at CB and who says Malacia is due back?

Alvaro will leave United at some point in the near future and will go on to have a bog standard career and be forgot about here as per most youth players.

 

[OverratedOpinion]

Horrendous player on giant wages. It's so crazy it might just work.

 

[bringbackbebe]

We should only take him if he agrees to a haircut, preferably the official United haircut - v in the back, short on the sides and like a rabid racoon on the top.

 

[simonhch]

Reguilon is a hard no from me. But Cucurella, whilst he’s been horrendous at Chelsea, especially considering the fee, there’s a player in there. He was fantastic for Brighton. Not 62m fantastic, but very very good. As an emergency signing on loan with a buy option, not obligation, should he rediscover the Brighton form, I could get behind that. Just.

I could also get behind the mooted Maguire to West Ham deal with Pavard or Todibo coming in, and the very strange McTominay-Gravenberch swap.

 

[Ace of Spades]

Thing is, Cucurella at Brighton was a beast. The players you've named have never been a beast for us at LB. I don't get the complaint if its a loan deal.

Also you should never ever hang your hat on preseason alone when faced with key positions like this. Fernandez has nothing established, he's only played at Preston.

Cucurella had a small period of good form and then largely been shit, and the players I named have been good.

And no, I am not going by preseason alone, Fernandez had a good loan as well, and times like this is where you give those players a chance rather than waste it on crap like Cucurella.

I would rather use that money to get another striker and midfielder in if possible.

 

[dejans]

Reguilon is a hard no from me. But Cucurella, whilst he’s been horrendous at Chelsea, especially considering the fee, there’s a player in there. He was fantastic for Brighton. Not 62m fantastic, but very very good. As an emergency signing on loan with a buy option, not obligation, should he rediscover the Brighton form, I could get behind that. Just.

I could also get behind the mooted Maguire to West Ham deal with Pavard or Todibo coming in, and the very strange McTominay-Gravenberch swap.

Lets go for this. Sounds like a plan.

 

[VP89]

Cucurella had a small period of good form and then largely been shit, and the players I named have been good.

And no, I am not going by preseason alone, Fernandez had a good loan as well, and times like this is where you give those players a chance rather than waste it on crap like Cucurella.

I would rather use that money to get another striker and midfielder in if possible.

Fernandez was on loan to Preston. You can't take anything from that, he's never played elite quality football so he's completely and utterly Unproven.

None of players you named had an entire season of consistent form in the PL to be fair. Cucurella has.