Atlético Madrid Targets Marc Cucurella for Summer Transfer

Atlético Madrid are preparing for another heavy summer outlay, the third year in a row that the club intend to reshape Diego Simeone’s squad with major investment. One position sits in bold at the top of the agenda: left-back.

Last summer’s solution has not held. Matteo Ruggeri, signed from Atalanta, has struggled to deliver consistent performances since arriving at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano. With no senior, natural understudy – academy product Julio Díaz is the only in-house alternative – Simeone repeatedly turned to David Hancko to plug the gap out of position. It worked in spells, but it was a compromise, not a plan.

Atlético do not want to live that way again next season. A specialist left-back is now seen as a necessity, not a luxury.

Cucurella, the chosen man

Inside the club, the preferred answer is already clear. Sporting director Mateu Alemany has placed Marc Cucurella at the top of the list. Atlético view the Chelsea defender as the ideal profile to walk straight into the starting role on the left side of the back line.

This is not a straightforward chase.

Chelsea, who earlier this month confirmed former Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso as their new manager, hold the cards. Alonso has been given a voice in all major squad decisions and, according to MD, he has already delivered a firm message on Cucurella: he wants him to stay at Stamford Bridge.

For Alonso, Cucurella is not a dispensable asset. He sees the 27-year-old as a key piece for his first season in London, a player whose intensity and versatility can anchor his plans on the flank.

Player power and a summer hinge point

Nothing is final yet. A definitive call on Cucurella’s future will only come after direct talks between Alonso and the player. The coach’s current stance is clear – keep him – but that position could shift if Cucurella himself pushes for a return to Spain.

That, for now, remains an unknown. There is no public indication that the defender has decided to force an exit, nor any suggestion that Chelsea are actively trying to move him on. Atlético are waiting, watching, and working in the background.

The calendar adds another layer. Any serious movement is expected to be slow. Cucurella is set to play a prominent role for Spain at the World Cup, and all parties anticipate that negotiations will only accelerate once that tournament is over.

Until then, Atlético’s left flank remains a question mark, Chelsea’s new manager stands firm, and one Spanish full-back sits at the centre of a tug-of-war that could shape both clubs’ seasons.