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Graham Potter has insisted Marc Cucurella has the strength of character to battle through a difficult start to his Chelsea career and suggests Manchester City‘s previous interest in the defender is proof he has the quality to excel at Stamford Bridge.
Cucurella has been booed by sections of the Blues’ fanbase in recent matches and earlier this week it was revealed the 24-year-old’s house was burgled shortly after making a £63million move from Brighton last summer.
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City were keen on signing Cucurella at the end of last season — with the player handing in a transfer request in an effort to force through an agreement — but ultimately the Premier League champions refused to meet Brighton’s asking price.
When asked about the former Barcelona and Getafe defender’s resolve, Potter said on Friday: “If you do any research about Marc in Spain, [his] character was fantastic. The team that was interested in him [Manchester City], I don’t think they’d be interested if he didn’t have the character he has.
“In a footballer’s career sometimes you have good moments and sometimes you don’t have such good moments. You have to accept them when they’re not and deal with them, deal with them like a grown person and try your best, which in fairness is what he is doing.
“There is no magic formula. It is not straightforward or easy. It would be wrong for me to say it is easy for him, it is not easy to play with that type of pressure or situation.
“All he can do is keep playing well in training, keep working hard and wait for the right opportunity. Our challenge is that the team has to win games and perform better and get some points because that takes the pressure off.
“In a situation where the results aren’t going as you’d like them to go then it is understandable, you are looking for someone to be critical of, someone to blame. That is normal, it is human nature.
“As a team, we’re not losing because of one individual. We’re not in the situation because of one person. We’re a team and a club and we need to stick together and move forward.”
Cucurella moved to Chelsea a month before Potter made the same switch in early September to replace Thomas Tuchel as the Blues’ head coach.
After confirming Cucurella had suffered the reported break-in, Potter continued: “Obviously I was with him at Brighton last year so I know his qualities. He was the final piece in our puzzle and helped the team function really well.
“At Chelsea, with the amount of transition there is, it is a completely different situation. He won’t be the first player that when you’re at a new club for the first six months, it doesn’t feel quite like it should and that can affect your performance.
“He brings different qualities in the build-up, his reactions when the ball gets lost are really, really good. In the summer, Chelsea weren’t the only team that wanted to buy him and the other team that wanted to buy him are quite good! So he’s not a bad player.
“At the same time, I understand the frustration at the moment, but he was Player of the Year at Brighton and a team that has done quite well in the Premier League wanted to sign him.”
Chelsea currently sit in 10th place having won just once in 2023 but face manager-less Southampton at home on Saturday.
