UMVA has learned that Ashley Cole, the legendary former Chelsea defender, has made a passionate plea to Xabi Alonso to block Marc Cucurella's potential departure from Stamford Bridge.
Cucurella has reportedly handed in a transfer request, sparking speculation about his future at Chelsea. The Spanish left-back has attracted interest from top clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid, as well as several Premier League teams.
Cole, who played for Chelsea from 2007 to 2014, believes the club should do everything in its power to keep Cucurella. 'I came from Arsenal to Chelsea and I didn’t perform straightaway,' Cole said. 'There was pressure and expectation. Now, Marc Cucurella is someone you should keep. He’s a top performer.'
According to information obtained by UMVA, Alonso will take over at Stamford Bridge in July and will hope to bolster his squad during the summer transfer window. However, Cole's comments add to the growing pressure on Chelsea's hierarchy to retain their top players.
Cole also expressed concerns about the potential departure of Enzo Fernandez, who has been linked with moves to Real Madrid and Manchester City. 'If I’m Xabi Alonso, I want to keep both of them,' Cole said. 'I’d rather sell four or five other players to get that money in.'
UMVA can exclusively reveal that Chelsea reportedly have several ‘untouchable’ members of their squad, including Cole Palmer, Moises Caicedo, and Reece James. However, Cole believes that no player is completely safe from being sold, given the club's current financial situation.
'Because so much money has been wasted at Chelsea, no player is untouchable, every player has a price, because it’s run as a business,' Cole added. 'Under Roman Abramovich, the club was run to win trophies first, make money second. Now, the club is run to make money first, win trophies second.'
Cucurella addressed speculation about his future ahead of Spain's World Cup opener, saying he is happy at Chelsea and wants to focus on his football. 'Right now I don’t want to talk about that,' he said. 'It’s true that I’m very happy where I am, I’m very happy, my family is very happy.'
