Atlético Madrid's Search for Left-Back: Cucurella on Top of the List
Atlético Madrid’s search for a new left-back has a familiar feel: another summer, another ambitious rebuild, another key position circled in red.
Diego Simeone is heading into what could be a third consecutive big-spending window, and the left side of his defence sits near the top of the to-do list. The experiment of this past season has not convinced anyone at the club.
Matteo Ruggeri, brought in from Atalanta last summer, has not found the consistency Atlético expected when they invested in him. The demands at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano are unforgiving, and his form has fluctuated too often for a role that underpins Simeone’s structure. With no senior, natural understudy beyond academy prospect Julio Diaz, the coach repeatedly turned to David Hancko as an emergency option, shunting him out of his preferred role.
That kind of patchwork solution cannot become the norm. Not for a team that intends to compete deep into every competition.
Cucurella at the top of the list
Inside the club, the plan is clear. Sporting director Mateu Alemany has already fixed on a priority target: Marc Cucurella.
Atlético view the Chelsea defender as the ideal profile to walk straight into the starting XI at left-back. Premier League experience, intensity without the ball, the capacity to drive play forward — on paper, he fits the Simeone mould.
Chelsea, though, will not be easy negotiators. And the situation has grown more complex since the London club confirmed Xabi Alonso as their next head coach earlier this month.
Alonso, stepping into his first Premier League job after his successful spell at Real Madrid, has quickly moved to protect certain pieces in his squad. According to MD, Cucurella is one of them. The new manager has made it clear internally that he wants his compatriot to stay at Stamford Bridge and form part of his core group.
Alonso’s call, Cucurella’s choice
Nothing is final yet. The decisive step will be a face-to-face conversation between Alonso and Cucurella, where the defender’s own wishes will come into sharp focus.
Alonso’s current stance is straightforward: keep Cucurella, build with him. That position, though, rests on the assumption that the 27-year-old is fully committed to Chelsea’s project. If Cucurella signals a strong desire to return to Spain this summer, the dynamic could shift quickly.
For now, that intention is unknown. Atlético wait. Chelsea hold. Alonso plans.
One factor is already shaping the timeline: the World Cup. Cucurella is expected to play a major role for Spain, and significant movement around his future is unlikely before the tournament ends. His performances there will only strengthen either Chelsea’s resolve to keep him or Atlético’s determination to prise him away.
For Simeone and Alemany, the equation is simple but not easy: secure Cucurella and solve a problem position for years, or watch a prime target slip away and return to a market where top-level left-backs are scarce, expensive, and rarely available on their terms.
