Graham Potter continues to give his full support to Marc Cucurella despite seeing Chelsea supporters cheer his substitution away at West Ham.
The Spanish full-back was acquired by the Blues in a £55 million ($66m) deal in the summer of 2022, with Potter parting with the 24-year-old defender at that stage during his spell in charge of Brighton. The pair have been reunited at Stamford Bridge, but Cucurella has struggled for form across 25 appearances for Chelsea and is yet to win over a sceptical fan base that cheered the sight of his number being held up 67 minutes into a 1-1 derby draw at the London Stadium.
Blues co-owner Todd Boehly is said to have liked a social media post suggesting that Cucurella is not good enough, but Potter has come to the defence of Cucurella: “In the summer, I know because I was the selling club, there was another club that were interested in Marc. From points of view in the Premier League they are a good club, so Marc hasn’t become a bad player at all but some players can go through bad times so we need to stick together and help him. Supporters are entitled to their opinion there’s nothing for me to be critical of. That’s just what we have to work with.”
Cucurella’s place in the Chelsea starting XI may be coming under threat, with England international Ben Chilwell – who replaced him against West Ham – close to being fully match sharp again after recovering from a hamstring injury.
Chelsea, who sit ninth in the Premier League table, will be back in action on Wednesday when travelling to Borussia Dortmund for the first leg of their Champions League last-16 encounter.
