Pochettino has crisis talks with Chelsea outcast to solve 'difficult' situation
Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed he has held crisis talks with Marc Cucurella after the left-back was deemed surplus to requirements in the summer.
Chelsea tried to offload the left-back to Manchester United, but the deal broke down, leaving him stuck at Stamford Bridge. He has since slipped down the pecking order under Pochettino, with Ben Chilwell and Levi Colwill ahead in the manager's mind.
But Pochettino has now insisted there is a place for Cucurella at the Blues, after the duo held crisis talks following his summer of frustration. And the Chelsea boss admitted that the left-back had lost his confidence after a disappointing debut campaign last year.
“I don’t know because I wasn’t involved in this situation, that was more the sporting director, the [player’s] agent and the club,” Pochettino said when asked about whether Cucurella was considered surplus to requirements.
“After, when the transfer window closed, we were talking in my office. We were really clear about how I see and assess him and I listened to his feelings. Of course, it was a difficult time for him after he arrived from Brighton.
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"It was tough, not only for him, but many, many players. That’s why we need to give confidence and trust in him. He is our player and I think he was really good against Brighton on Wednesday playing on the right-hand side.
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Mauricio Pochettino has held crisis talks with Marc Cucurella (Getty Images)“I think he was doing well and I am so happy about his performance and commitment. That’s what we expect from our players. Now, it is about working, waiting for the opportunity and working really hard. It is a really clear situation, he is in our plan. If he deserves to play, he will play.”
Cucurella was finally handed a chance to impress in the Carabao Cup win over Brighton last week. He duly delivered a solid performance against his former club, though the game saw Chilwell struck by a serious injury.
Pochettino confirmed afterwards that the vice-captain faces a long period on the sidelines, potentially opening the door to Cucurella. Chelsea are also missing skipper Reece James for Monday's clash with Fulham, though Pochettino believes the rest of his squad will step up.
"I don’t believe Reece will be available, not for Monday. Maybe a week after, we’ll see. Also we need to assess him, but I cannot confirm at the moment. In any club, always you miss important players when they cannot play," he added.
"Of course we will miss them, always we miss top players and Reece and Chilly are top players. When they are at their best they are the best full-backs in the world. Any team missing important players, it will affect their performance.
"There is only one Reece James and one Ben Chilwell. We have Malo, Marc [Cucurella] and Levi [Colwill] who can come in and play really well, but they have a different profile. That is football. It is difficult to replace top players."
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