David Ornstein Transfer News: Chelsea may replace Cucurella with €42m left-back

Updated: 16 Jun 2026 07:31 BST |
5 min read

Chelsea may opt against signing a “specialist” left-back to replace Marc Cucurella, according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, with Jorrel Hato poised to continue his development next season.

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Spain international Cucurella ended his four-year association with the Blues by competing a €60million (£51.8m) move to Real Madrid on Monday, in a fast-moving transfer which caught world football by surprise.

The 27-year-old – who made 163 appearances for Chelsea, winning two major honours – had previously expressed his concern over the direction the club were heading in following the sacking of Enzo Maresca in January.

Following Cucurella’s sudden departure, there has been an increase in speculation as to how Chelsea will look to fill the void left by Cucurella in Xabi Alonso’s starting eleven next season.

However, The Athletic’s Ornstein believes Chelsea may look to replace Cucurella in-house by handing more minutes to Netherlands international Hato, who joined the club from Ajax for €42.8million (£37m) last summer.

When asked how Chelsea will respond to Cucurella’s sale, Ornstein told The Athletic FC Podcast: “Well Chelsea will immediately point to the fact that Jorrel Hato has come on impressively.

“Last season and, following the departure of Enzo Maresca, he actually got more prominence and really was a key contributor. He can play at left-back, he can play in central defence and so I think his emergence will continue.

“Of course, the departure of Cucurella means that it could open up scope for a versatile signing, I would say. It doesn’t necessarily need to be a left-back specialist but somebody who can play in multiple positions across the team.”

Former Ajax defender Hato made 36 appearances in all competitions for Chelsea last season, scoring two goals. The 20-year-old found the back of the net for the first time in the 5-1 win at Charlton Athletic in the third round of the FA Cup in January.

Chelsea are also set to sign Valentin Barco from Ligue 1 side Strasbourg this summer, according to The Athletic. Both clubs are owned under the BlueCo umbrella led by Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali.

Ornstein added: “There’s [Valentin] Barco who has been very heavily speculated as coming in from Strasbourg, the sister club of Chelsea.

“He of course was previously at Brighton and Hove Albion and Chelsea haven’t announced anything officially yet but it would appear that is the direction of travel and he of course is experienced at playing left-back; currently [he is] at the World Cup with Argentina.

“So I think there could be some activity but, you know, we would expect activity from Chelsea this summer regardless and I don’t necessarily think it will be a specialist left-back [coming in], given the resources they already have. Perhaps if somebody does come in it will be with the ability to play in multiple different positions.”

Cucurella meanwhile has signed a six-year contract with La Liga giants Real, who are looking to become a force again next season under new manager Jose Mourinho.

The Portuguese has returned to Los Blancos, the club he managed between 2010 and 2013, after they posted a second successive season without winning a trophy in 2025-26.

Real are also close to signing Ibrahima Konate, Denzel Dumfries and Bernardo Silva this summer, according to widespread reports, as Mourinho targets experience over youth in the transfer market.

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