Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella has taken aim at the club in a sensational interview while on international duty with Spain.

Chelsea have been in extremely poor form in recent weeks. Enzo Maresca was relieved of his duties at the start of the year, and it was hoped that his replacement, Liam Rosenior, could transform their fortunes.

However, he has not had the impact that many would have hoped. Chelsea have won just once in their last six matches in the Premier League and are now in danger of failing to qualify for next season’s Champions League. The Blues were also humiliated by PSG in Europe’s premier cup competition.

Enzo Fernandez has hinted he wants to leave Chelsea over the international break and now Cucurella has also spoken of his displeasure at ongoings at Chelsea in an eye-opening interview with the Athletic.

Marc Cucurella Questions Club’s Transfer Policy

Chelsea’s transfer policy under their current owners have raised eyebrows. The club have spent huge amounts of money on young players in the hope they can develop at the club and sell them for a profit in the future. They have prioritised doing this over signing experienced players.

Cucurella does not agree with this strategy and he’s made his feelings very clear. He said: “Results like that [against PSG] are always hard to take. You are fighting and training every day only to realise, at the very end, that when games matter, we are still a bit away from the top level.

“We have a good core of players. The foundations are there. But to fight for major trophies such as the Premier League or the Champions League, you need more. Signing young players only might complicate achieving those goals. Against PSG, we lacked players that had gone through situations like that.

“You need time as well, and I know the young players are the ones that will have the experience in the future. But you need to find the balance between both worlds.”

Cucurella Slams Chelsea’s Decision to Part Ways With Enzo Maresca

Cucurella, considered one of the best left-backs in the Premier League right now, also slammed the club for their decision to part ways with Maresca, who was extremely popular with Chelsea’s players. He said:

“With Enzo Maresca in charge, we were more stable, because we worked together for 18 months. If you look at our first pre-season with him, there were doubts. You need a process for every player to understand what we need to do. In our last months with Maresca, we played almost by heart. If we changed the system, we knew what we had to do. You need that time.

Cucurella added: “The instability around the club comes from this, in a nutshell. We had a caretaker (former under-21s coach Calum McFarlane) first, then a new manager, with new ideas and no time to work on them.

“To make a change like that, the best thing is to wait until the end of the season. You would give everyone, the players and the new manager, time to get ready, have a full pre-season… Look at Arsenal now, who are fighting for every trophy. They’ve been with [Mikel] Arteta for almost seven years and they have not won much. But that trust in the project gives rewards.”

Chelsea are currently sixth in the Premier League with seven matches left to play. They return to action on Saturday April 4 when they take on Port Vale in their FA Cup quarter-final clash.

Manchester United are unlikely to pursue a move to sign Newcastle United star Sandro Tonali this summer due to the overall cost of the deal, according to The Athletic’s Laurie Whitwell.

The Red Devils have identified the need to strengthen their midfield department this summer, with Casemiro set to depart at the end of his contract, while Manuel Ugarte is also expected to leave after a lack of regular game time this season.

United are keen to add two new midfielders to the squad, possibly three if Ugarte leaves, and the club have been strongly linked with a move to sign the Italian as one of those options. However, it has now emerged that there may have been a change of plan.

Man Utd Unlikely to Pursue Tonali

According to The Athletic, Man Utd targeted a deal for the ‘superstar’ midfielder last summer but the overall cost of a deal was deemed too expensive.

United had prioritised their attack last summer, spending over £200m on Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, and Benjamin Sesko, which left them with around £50m to sign a new midfielder in their budget. However, Tonali’s cost was in excess of that, and a deal was never formally pursued.

The club are expected to have more midfielders available this summer; however, Newcastle are expected to demand a big fee for their star man, and his wages on top of that fee mean that the club are now playing down the possibility of making a move to sign him once again.

It’s also stated that there are some concerns over his gambling ban, and while the club remain interested, they are also considering a number of other options, including top target Elliot Anderson.

Is Tonali Worth Big Fee?

Reports suggest that Newcastle are going to demand around £100m to let Tonali leave, which would obviously be a huge investment for the club, an is something they have to seriously consider before splashing the cash.

But the 25-year-old is someone who ticks all the boxes of an elite Premier League midfielder, and if United have the money to get a deal done then it’s not something they should rule out just because of the fee.

GIVEMESPORT asked ChatGPT what a fair fee would be for Tonali this summer, and this was its response:

A fair fee for Sandro Tonali would be £85m–£95m.

• Newcastle reportedly value him around £80m–£100m
• Age (25), long contract, and Premier League pedigree push it high
• Anything below £80m likely rejected; £90m feels realistic middle ground

Related

Forget Palmer: Man Utd Must Sign ‘Best Player in the World’, Contact Already Made

Man Utd must make a move to sign the ‘best player in the world’ instead of Cole Palmer to replace Bruno Fernandes, with contact already made.

Tottenham Hotspur now have a clear answer in their bid to appoint Roberto De Zerbi as their new manager, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano.

Tottenham are looking to put the Igor Tudor disaster right as they look to avoid a catastrophic relegation to the Championship, which is a distinct possibility as things stand.

Tottenham could find themselves in the Premier League’s bottom three the next time they kick off against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on April 12, with 18th-placed West Ham United hosting bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers two days prior.

The north Londoners are currently one point above the Irons with seven matches left to play, but they haven’t won a single league game in 2026 and they are the most out-of-form team currently involved in the relegation battle.

It had been expected that Spurs may have had to call on a club legend in an interim position for the rest of the season given the lack of other options available for such a short spell of games, before things began to develop with De Zerbi in recent days.

Romano: De Zerbi to Tottenham ‘Here We Go’ Expected

GIVEMESPORT sources revealed on Monday lunchtime that De Zerbi had performed a U-turn on his initial reluctance to take the job now rather than in the summer, with things now progressing quickly.

GMS understands that Tottenham have offered the Italian a five-year contract that will put him into the top three of best-paid Premier League managers, with only Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta above him.

Speaking on Monday night, Romano revealed that De Zerbi is now ‘really, really close’ to becoming Spurs’ new manager with a ‘here we go’ expected soon.

The Italian journalist said: “The update I can give you is that Roberto De Zerbi is really, really, really close to becoming the new Tottenham Hotspur manager with a ‘here we go’ expected soon.

“It was between De Zerbi and Pochettino at some stage. But with Pochettino it’s complicated, because obviously he’s busy with the US men’s national team. There is the World Cup incoming, so obviously Mauricio Pochettino has different things to do in this moment, rather than reaching an agreement with Tottenham or any other club.

“So Tottenham decided to go all in for Roberto De Zerbi with a big financial proposal, a big contract proposal, five-year contract, a really important salary, one of the best salaries for managers in the Premier League at this stage.”

When Will De Zerbi to Tottenham be Announced?

Given Romano says an agreement is on the verge of happening, it will surely be Tuesday that we hear the news that De Zerbi has been appointed as Tudor’s successor at Tottenham, barring any last-minute twists.

And getting him tomorrow is needed, with those Spurs players who have been away on international duty returning to Hotspur Way later this week.

With no fixture this weekend, De Zerbi should have more than a week to work with his players on the training ground and to prepare them for the visit to Sunderland, where they could really do with bringing all three points back to London.

Let’s see how things develop today.