The agent of Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella has blasted "fake" claims that his client has been offered to Atletico Madrid for the 2023-24 season.
The 24-year-old arrived at Stamford Bridge in a €65.3m (£56.1m) deal in the summer of 2022, having caught the eye with his effervescent showings for Brighton & Hove Albion under Graham Potter.
However, Cucurella endured a troubled debut campaign with Chelsea, registering just two assists from 33 appearances across all competitions under a multitude of managers.
Cucurella started 21 Premier League games and a further four in the Champions League before sustaining a season-ending muscular injury, as he struggled to endear himself to the Blues faithful.
The Spain international was deployed as a left-back, left wing-back and centre-back throughout the season, but he could only help Chelsea achieve a disappointing 12th-placed finish in the Premier League.
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Cucurella is not due to become a free agent until the summer of 2028, but according to Spanish outlet Marca, the Blues are already trying to find buyers for the ex-Getafe and Barcelona man.
It has been claimed that Chelsea have offered Atletico Madrid the chance to sign Cucurella, whose future at Stamford Bridge under Mauricio Pochettino remains unclear.
However, Cucurella's agent Alvaro Dominguez denied the existence of such talks with Atletico, sharing a screenshot of the article on social media with the caption "fake news".
Nevertheless, Cucurella's game time situation may not improve much at Chelsea next season, as Ben Chilwell will likely hold down the left-back spot when fully fit.
Furthermore, 18-year-old Lewis Hall was praised for his performances during his brief appearances last season, while Ian Maatsen is back at Cobham following his loan spell at Burnley.
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Chelsea have already done away with a host of unwanted players in a bid to balance the books this summer, allowing Cucurella's fellow defender Kalidou Koulibaly to move to Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal.
Koulibaly follows N'Golo Kante (Al-Ittihad) and Edouard Mendy (Al-Ahli) to the Saudi Pro League, although Hakim Ziyech's proposed move to Al-Nassr is reportedly on the verge of collapsing after the Moroccan failed a medical.
Meanwhile, Ruben Loftus-Cheek has departed for AC Milan, while the Blues have pocketed £65m from the sale of Kai Havertz to Arsenal and an initial £25m from Manchester City for Mateo Kovacic.
While Cucurella will seemingly not be moving to Atletico, Diego Simeone's side are believed to be close to sealing a deal for Cesar Azpilicueta, who was originally thought to be heading for Inter Milan before the Madrid giants made their move.
Romelu Lukaku, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Conor Gallagher, Ethan Ampadu, Trevoh Chalobah, Christian Pulisic and Manchester United-bound Mason Mount could also be on their way out of Chelsea, who have already brought Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku to West London this summer.
Ben Knapton
