Transfer Centre

Manchester City 'learn asking price for Marc Cucurella'

By Matt Law, Football Editor | 20 July 2022

Manchester City will have to pay in excess of £50m if they wish to sign Brighton & Hove Albion defender Marc Cucurella, according to a report.

Manchester City will reportedly have to pay in excess of £50m if they wish to sign Brighton & Hove Albion defender Marc Cucurella during this summer's transfer window.

The Citizens have agreed to sell Oleksandr Zinchenko to Arsenal in the current market, which will see the English champions bring a new left-back to the club before the window closes.

Cucurella is believed to be the team's leading target in that area of the field, and according to 90min, Brighton are expecting an offer to arrive from Pep Guardiola's side.

The report, though, claims that the Seagulls would demand 'well in excess of £50m' for the Spaniard, with Brighton wanting a higher fee than they received from Arsenal for Ben White.

Graham Potter's side in a strong position when it comes to the 23-year-old's future, as he has a contract with the club until the summer of 2026.

Brighton & Hove Albion's Marc Cucurella on September 11, 2021 © Reuters

Cucurella spent time with Espanyol as a youngster before joining Barcelona, but he only made one first-team appearance for the Catalan club ahead of a switch to Getafe.

A successful period with the Deep Blue Ones led to Brighton signing the defender in August 2021, and he has represented the Seagulls on 38 appearances, contributing one goal and two assists in the process.

"All I can say about Marc is he is a tremendous player, a tremendous person. He is brilliant for the dressing room. The players love him," Brighton chairman Tony Bloom told The Argus earlier this month.

"Graham (Potter) and the coaching staff love him, I love him, the fans love him. He was unbelievably good last season, his first season in the Premier League. We are hoping for more to come and we haven't had a bid for him."

Cucurella has only been capped on one occasion by Spain, back in June 2021, and he faces a battle to make the squad for the 2022 World Cup despite his impressive form at club level.

Arsenal's Thomas Partey in action with Brighton & Hove Albion's Marc Cucurella on October 2, 2021 © Reuters

Man City have boosted their squad with the arrivals of Erling Braut Haaland, Kalvin Phillips and Stefan Ortega during this summer's transfer window.

Meanwhile, Julian Alvarez has now officially moved to the club from River Plate, and the 22-year-old is expected to be in Guardiola's first-team plans next season.

There have also been notable departures in the shape of Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus, with the pair being allowed to join Chelsea and Arsenal respectively.

Guardiola has also confirmed that Zinchenko's move to Arsenal is on the verge of being completed.

"Zinchenko, like Gabriel and Raheem, the impact of these three players has been massive, incredible people and exceptional players, they move on," the Spaniard told reporters. "Chelsea and Arsenal are incredible clubs, I'm happy for the success they'll have there.

"Our gratitude for how they behave on and off the pitch. It was nice with Oleks, we could say bye properly. We couldn't do it with Gabriel and Raheem, but with Oleks we had dinner and said bye."

Man City will take on Club America in their first pre-season friendly on Wednesday night before also facing Bayern Munich ahead of the Community Shield with Liverpool next weekend.