Chelsea are set to hijack the Cucurella's move to Manchester City.

Chelsea has entered the Cucurella race.

City are interested in the 24-year-old left-back but are unwilling to meet the Seagulls' £50 million asking price, allowing rivals to pounce. The Blues are prepared to do so and are in discussions with Cucurella, though no agreement has yet been reached between the two Premier League clubs.

Chelsea's desperate search for defenders has led them to attempt to derail Manchester City's bid to sign Marc Cucurella from Brighton. City have refused to meet Brighton's £50 million valuation for Cucurella, opening the door for Chelsea to hold their own talks. Cucurella is said to be open to joining Chelsea despite his desire to join Manchester City, and Brighton have already begun looking for replacements.

Although Chelsea already have a £50 million left-back in Ben Chilwell, as well as Barcelona targets Marcos Alonso and Emerson Palmeiri, Cucurella is seen as a potential solution to some of the club's defensive issues. Head coach Thomas Tuchel has stated that he would prefer to add another player.

Apart from their own left-back targets, Brighton are said to be interested in a deal for Cucurella that includes highly-rated teenager Levi Colwill moving in the opposite direction. Chelsea failed to sign a number of defensive targets this summer, including Matthijs de Ligt, Nathan Ake, and, most recently, Jules Kounde, who signed with Barcelona.

However, the Stamford Bridge club has spent £34 million on Kalidou Koulibaly and is interested in Inter Milan right-back Denzel Dumfries. Leicester City are adamant that they will not sell Wesley Fofana, who Chelsea has enquired about, unless they receive a massive bid of £80 million or more.

De Jong has the potential to earn more than Ronaldo.

Manchester United risk upsetting Cristiano Ronaldo even more by replacing him as the club's highest-paid player this season. The Red Devils are continuing their pursuit of Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong after the two clubs agreed to a £56.2 million initial transfer fee with a total package worth around £72 million. United will not give up on a deal to sign the Dutch international and are optimistic about making a breakthrough this month. Ronaldo's weekly wages have dropped from £480,000 per week when he returned from Juventus last summer to £360,000. According to Diario Sport, United's attempts to sign De Jong have failed.

 

Barcelona is stepping up its efforts to raise funds for new signings.

According to Reuters, Barcelona is increasing their efforts to generate revenue in order to make more new signings this summer. The Catalan giants sold a 25% stake in their audiovisual studio, Barca Studios, to digital fan token firm Socios.com for 100 million euros, according to club president Joan Laporta on Monday. The agreement comes after the club sold a further 15% stake in its La Liga TV rights to American private equity group Sixth Street last month, giving Sixth Street a 25% stake.

Following their first investment from Sixth Street, Barcelona signed Brazil winger Raphinha from Leeds and Poland striker Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich.

Umtiti is a target for the Olympiakos.

The Greek club is said to be exploring the possibility of signing Samuel Umtiti for next season. According to ESPN, Olympiakos representatives will begin negotiations with Barcelona next week in order to sign the French center-back on a season-long loan.