Simon Jordan has jumped to the defence of Marc Cucurella and has taken issue with the criticism he’s received following his upturn in form.
Cucurella was a big money signing from Brighton in Todd Boehly and Clearlake Captial’s first transfer window in charge following their takeover of the club in 2022.
The Spaniard really struggled in his first season at Stamford Bridge, and was even booed at times by his own supporters as the Blues slumped to a miserable 12th placed finish in the 2022-2023 campaign.
Jordan defends Cucurella
The 25-year-old might not have been a Chelsea player last season had his proposed loan move to Manchester United gone through.
The Spain international started the season behind Ben Chilwell in the pecking order, but got his opportunity through injuries and certainly made the most of it, even impressing out of position at right back.
Cucurella unfortunately suffered an ankle injury last December against Everton which required surgery and he missed a couple of months of the season.
The left back returned to the side and put in some good performances, but he really started to show how good a player he is when Mauricio Pochettino made a tactical switch when 2-0 down against Aston Villa.
The change saw Cucurella invert into midfield when Chelsea were in possession, and he looked like a different player during the final five games of the season, with the fans really taking to him and chanting his name throughout matches.
Jordan has leapt to the defence of Cucurella and feels criticism of the Spaniard is unfair after his upturn in form.
“We look at their spend pattern and people were talking about Cucurella and how useless he was and how much money they spent on him”, Jordan told talkSPORT.
“But no one’s mentioned that Cucurella’s been picked for the Spanish national squad, so obviously he’s at a level now where people think he’s operating at a higher level.”
There’s no doubt Cucurella is a quality player who could certainly thrive under incoming manager Enzo Maresca who is known to invert the fullback in his system, but it remains to be seen if the club are still open to selling the former Brighton man.
