The 24-year-old, who has agreed a six-year deal, signed up in time to feature against Everton on Saturday Night Football, live on Sky Sports. Chelsea took a swipe at Brighton when they announced the deal, repeating the form of their Tweet earlier this week, denying reports that a deal had been reached for the defender. It follows the arrivals of Raheem Sterling from Man City (£47.5m), Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli (£33m), Gabriel Slonina from Chicago Fire (£12m) and Carney Chukwuemeka from Aston Villa (£20m) for a total spend of £172m so far. Saturday 6 August 17:00 Start 17:30 Cucurella will compete for minutes at left-back with Ben Chilwell, who was signed from Leicester for £50m two seasons ago – but head coach Thomas Tuchel says his new signing offers flexibility across the back line. “It helps for [fit-again] Ben to get away from the pressure of ‘I have to deliver and we absolutely need you now,’” Tuchel said. Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player Laurie Whitwell from The Athletic discusses the latest stories in the press with Chelsea keen on world record Wesley Fofana and could there be a reprieve for Cristiano Ronaldo? “We also have Marcos Alonso and Emerson, but Marc is the choice in that position and he can play very well in the back three. It has the profile of Azpi (Cesar Azpilicueta) with the left foot. It gives us many options. “Ben is very ambitious, he was looking forward to getting back into team training. He seems to need a bit more time to adapt to the pace and fitness of the game itself, which is normal. It’s a demanding league and we have to keep an eye on him and not to throw him in”. Manchester City tried to sign Cucurella but were unable to match Brighton’s valuation of the Spain international. Cucurella’s transfer is Brighton’s record sale, surpassing the £50m Arsenal paid for centre-back Ben White last summer. Image: Manchester City have been unsuccessful in their attempts to sign Koukourela It is also a record fee for a full-back, matching the £60m deal City agreed to bring Joao Cancelo from Juventus to the Etihad in 2019. Chelsea’s work is far from done, with the Blues working on a deal for Leicester defender Wesley Fofana. Image: Wesley Fofana is a Chelsea target They are also understood to be in the running for Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong, Manchester United’s priority target this summer.
Colwill joined Brighton on loan from Chelsea
Levi Colwell has joined Brighton on a season-long loan from Chelsea. The England under-19 defender had a successful spell with Huddersfield Town last season and will now spend the new season in the Premier League with Albion. Head coach Graham Potter said: “Levy has huge potential and has already shown his ability last season in the Championship and with England at various age group levels up to the under-21s. “I’m really looking forward to working with him on the training pitch and in games during the season. “He mostly plays in the center but has also played on the left as a full-back and is a player who is comfortable on the ball.”
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