Tottenham wanted to sign Marc Cucurella back in the summer before Chelsea struck a £62m agreement with Brighton.
It was Tutto Juve in Italy who revealed that Spurs wanted to sign the Spaniard along with Juventus, although Tottenham were eventually blown out of the water by their London rivals and rejected by the defender.
However, Cucurella has struggled at Stamford Bridge since Antonio Conte missed out on his signature, and the left-back has now receiving some scathing criticism from Jamie Carragher.
What’s the story?
Well, it is starting to look as if Tottenham may have dodged a bullet.
Cucurella was named in the starting XI by Graham Potter as Manchester City recorded a 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge on Thursday evening, with the Spaniard caught napping at the back post as Riyad Mahrez snuck in.
The 24-year-old was then hauled off in the 64th minute, with Carragher far from impressed by his defending.
Speaking about Cucurella on Sky Sports, the 44-year-old said: “I was not happy with Cucurella right through that second half until he came off. When you’re talking about the price tag, he can’t defend.”
Now, that is quite the comment from Carragher regarding a player who cost £62m and is said to earn £175,000-a-week at Chelsea.
Tottenham may have been upset about missing out on Cucurella at the time, although things have worked out well.
Tottenham found better than Cucurella
Spurs eventually moved to sign Ivan Perisic on a free transfer after missing out on Cucurella, and the Croatia international has performed superbly so far in N17.
The Tottenham No.14 has provided eight assists already this season, where his technical ability and energy make him a real outlet for Spurs in a left wing-back role.
Crucially, Perisic can also defend – while he may not have as much time left in his career as Cucurella does, it seems Conte definitely found the better option for the present.
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