Marc Cucurella has revealed he’s been trying to convince Spain team-mate Nico Williams to snub Barcelona and join Chelsea while at Euro 2024.
Barca are keen to bring Williams to the Nou Camp this summer following his impressive spell at La Liga rivals Athletic Bilbao and his superb performances at the Euros.
The 21-year-old, who has a £46.5m release clause, has started three of Spain’s four games over in Germany and scored in their last-16 victory over Georgia.
Spain defender Cucurella believes Williams would be a ‘great signing’ for Barcelona but admits he hopes he moves to Chelsea, who have also expressed interest in a summer deal.
Cucurella began his professional career at Barca but only made one appearance for the Spanish giants before leaving in 2019 and playing for Getafe, Brighton and now Chelsea.
‘He is a great player, he is bringing out all his potential,’ Cucurella told Spanish outlet SPORT when asked about Williams.
‘It is a source of pride that he is on our team, that he is our teammate and with players like him everything is easier.
‘He would be a great signing [for Barcelona], but it all depends on what he wants. I’ve been telling him to sign for Chelsea…
‘In the end everything depends on him, he is very young, with a lot of experience. I think he will be a great player.’
Spain have arguably been the standout team so far at the Euros but Luis de la Fuente’s side will have to be at their best to beat hosts Germany in a mouth-watering quarter-final on Friday evening.
‘It will be a very open match, which can be decided by small details,’ Cucurella said on Spain’s quarter-final tie. ‘We play these one-on-one matches very well.
‘We played two good matches against important rivals like Croatia and Italy and we must correct what we failed at, improve because it will be a demanding match and hopefully we will win.’
Cucurella will be playing under a new Chelsea manager next season after Enzo Maresca replaced Mauricio Pochettino in the Stamford Bridge hot-seat.
‘A good coach has come and we need a bit of patience, not to make so many changes, to be more calm,’ he said.
‘We finished the season very well, in Europe, and then we played a final and a semi-final. We didn’t win, but the year wasn’t bad. Hopefully we can build something good.’
Cucurella has also offered his support to Spanish teenage striker Marc Guiu, who completed a £5m move to Stamford Bridge from Barcelona earlier this week.
‘We spoke and I told him that if he needed anything, he should let me know,’ the 25-year-old added.
‘I’m happy because he’s a great player, very young, with a very promising future and we’re going to take care of him so that he can play his best football.’
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