Arsenal are one of the clubs chasing 21-year-old Getafe left wing-back Marc Cucurella, according to reports in Spain.
Cadena Cope (via Football-Espana) report that Cucurella is on the radar of a number of clubs this summer, including Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur. In Spain, Sevilla and Atletico Madrid are after him. Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Monchengladbach are watching from Germany.
Cucurella is performing well this season in a surprisingly strong Getafe side. They sit fifth in the table, one point off third, and the wing-back is up to 32 appearances. He has one goal and five assists in those matches.
Getafe are also currently competing in the Europa League along with Arsenal. They’re leading Ajax 2-0 in their first knockout tie, and you can use this Unibet promo code to put money on the result of Thursday’s second leg matches.
The player’s situation is a bit complicated though. For now, he’s only on loan at Getafe from Barcelona. The La Liga club have a purchase option though, and they’re planning to activate it. For all intents and purposes, he’s essentially their player now.
At that point, Cucurella would have a €25m release clause, with Barcelona taking 40% of the proceeds from it. From the looks of things, one club or another will activate that clause this summer.
The media first linked Arsenal to a move for Cucurella all the way back in 2017. A lot has changed since then, but with Sead Kolasinac’s injury problems and inability to nail down a spot under Mikel Arteta, the club could move for a left-back next window.
At that time, it was reported Arsenal were willing to swap Hector Bellerin for Cucurella and Arda Turan which obviously didn’t happen. Then 18, he was linked with a plethora of top European sides. Chelsea, Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund were all said to have monitoring the player although no-one, ultimately, made any moves. At least no successful ones.
This summer certainly looks set to be an interesting one for Arsenal. It’s not clear what sort of players thy will look to bring in, who they will let leave or what Mikel Arteta ultimately wants for his squad.