Chelsea sending 'contract offer' for £50m 'top target' at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea now have a good chance of completing the signing of Brighton defender Marc Cucurella this summer after making him a top target, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano.

Thomas Tuchel is preparing his side for the start of the 2022-23 Premier League campaign this weekend but has endured a frustrating transfer window to date.

For a long time, it appeared Manchester City were the frontrunners to sign the Spaniard this summer but were reluctant to pay the Seagulls’ asking price of £50 million.

This has allowed Chelsea to steal a march on their Premier League rivals with the Blues now set to complete a deal, with centre-back Levi Colwill potentially going the other way, according to The Guardian.

The report also states that Tuchel is a big fan of the 24-year-old and scouted him extensively before he made the move to the Amex last summer.

After losing Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen, the German is eager to rebuild his defence, with the futures of Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta both strongly linked with Barcelona.

Kalidou Koulibaly has arrived from Napoli to aid in that pursuit, while Raheem Sterling has signed from Manchester City, but the Blues remain short of options at the back.

Romano understands that Cucurella is now a top target for Chelsea after his move to the Etihad fell through.

The transfer guru says the west Londoners have submitted a contract proposal to the player already and that they now have a good chance of completing a deal ahead of the September 1 deadline.

Romano told GIVEMESPORT: “Cucurella is now a top target for Chelsea. They are prepared to submit a proposal on the contract side to the player. So it’s a work in progress but I think Chelsea have a good chance of signing Marc