For the past few weeks, all of the talk has been about comments made by Enzo Fernandez to the media. It looks like the Argentine midfielder is trying to engineer a move away from Chelsea. Now, Marc Cucurella has become the latest player to come out and speak against the BlueCo’s model.
Cucurella is one of the few players that Chelsea have who has some experience under his belt. He is a EURO winner with Spain and was one of the first signings of the BlueCo era. So, when the Spaniard speaks in the media, it should carry some weight.
Cucurella has spoken about a multitude of topics recently. And a lot of it feels like criticism of the decisions that BlueCo have been making.
Cucurella did not sound pleased with the club’s decision to sack Enzo Maresca in the middle of the season. Also, he questioned the strategy of signing just youngsters, which might be counterproductive when it comes to top players’ aspirations of winning trophies and playing in the biggest games possible.
Fabrizio Romano explains why Marc Cucurella spoke against Chelsea owners’ decision
Many have been taken aback by the timing of Cucurella’s comments. It comes amidst rumours of several players looking to leave. Is the Spaniard trying to engineer exit as well?
Well, that does not seem to be the case. While speaking on his YouTube channel, Fabrizio Romano said about the situation:
“Today, in an interview with The Athletic, Cucurella sent important messages to the club, saying, ‘With [Enzo] Maresca we had a very good relationship.’ In my opinion, Cucurella says, was not the best solution to fire the manager mid-season, it’s probably better to do that at the end of the season to take big decisions at the end of the season. Because Liam Rosenior has very good ideas, but it’s difficult to understand and practice them now in the middle of the season.
“So, Cucurella was also disappointed about the results in big games. It was something like, ‘Against PSG you can see we have a very good young squad, the foundations are there, but we also need some experience, we need some balance.’ So strong messages coming from one of the leaders of the dressing room and one of the faces of this Chelsea project like Marc Cucurella.
“So, for sure a tense situation in the media. Then Marc Cucurella is always a smart player, a player who knows what he says, a player who likes to have some kind of leadership also in this kind of situations, but also to send a message to the club. He’s not doing that against Chelsea or against someone. He’s only speaking to send the best message possible to Chelsea as a club and also to the fans. So this was the clear mission.”
Cucurella might have given BlueCo the wake-up call they badly needed
The fans have been concerned about the Chelsea owners’ decision-making for quite some time now. Often, it has felt like they are too concerned with reinventing the game rather than finding success. The transfer model has felt like the main area of focus rather than winning trophies.
That is not the Chelsea that the fans know. And as it turns out, that might not be the club that the players had thought they were joining.
Cucurella is not the only player who seems to have doubts about the club’s methods either. And BlueCo might now be at a crossroads. Even if they feel that they are moving in the right direction, there is now the risk that it could all fall apart if their best players start leaving left, right and centre. They will need to find a way to keep them happy in the short and long-term.
Signing some more experienced and first-team-ready players might be a good starting point. Of course, nobody wants them to completely abandon their model of signing youngsters. But there needs to be the right balance. Chelsea need to be in a position where they can win in the present while also being set for the future.
