Brighton deny agreement in place with Chelsea for Marc Cucurella transfer

Brighton and Hove Albion have moved to deny reports that Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign Manchester City target Marc Cucurella, labelling them as ‘inaccurate’.

The Spaniard was initially expected to complete a summer move to Manchester City after the English champions sold Oleksandr Zinchenko to Arsenal for £32m.

However, Brighton have been under no pressure to sell Cucurella for a cut-price fee this summer, as his deal at the Amex Stadium still has four years left to run.

The Seagulls are understood to be holding out for at least £50m for the 24-year-old, and Man City are not willing to bow to Brighton’s financial demands.

As a result, Chelsea – who have shown a willingness to meet Brighton’s asking price for Cucurella – are now well-placed to hijack a deal for the former Getafe man.

Media outlets were reporting on Wednesday evening that Thomas Tuchel’s side had reached an agreement with the Seagulls to buy Cucurella for £52.5million. However, the club have released a statement on their official Twitter account to deny the speculation.

It read: “CLUB STATEMENT: MARC CUCURELLA. Contrary to inaccurate reports from numerous media outlets this evening, no agreement has been reached with any club to sell Marc Cucurella.”

This means time hasn’t run out for City to make another approach for Cucurella if they have a change of heart and decide to meet Brighton’s demands.