Atletico Madrid facing Xabi Alonso obstacle in bid to sign Chelsea defender

Atletico Madrid have plans for another big-spending summer transfer window, their third in three successive years. A number of areas in Diego Simeone’s squad need to be addressed, with one of the most pressing being at left-back.

Matteo Ruggeri, who joined from Atalanta last summer, has struggled to perform at a consistent level since arriving at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano, and with no natural back-up (aside from academy star Julio Diaz), Simeone often resorted to utilising David Hancko out of position. The hope is that this scenario is not repeated next season, which is why another left-back is on the agenda.

A clear priority target has already been identified by Atleti sporting director Mateu Alemany, that being Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella. Los Colchoneros see him as the ideal candidate to take over as starting left-back, although a deal will not be made easy by the Premier League side.

Earlier this month, Chelsea announced the arrival of former Real Madrid head coach Xabi Alonso to be their next manager. He will have his say on the players attracting interest from other clubs, and in the case of Cucurella, he has made it clear that he wants his fellow Spaniard to remain at Stamford Bridge, as per MD.

A final decision will only be made once talks take place between Alonso and Cucurella, but the former’s idea is for the defender to stay at Chelsea. However, his stance could change if the 27-year-old makes it clear that he wants to return to Spain this summer, which is something that is not known at this stage.

It will certainly be interesting to see how the situation with Cucurella plays out over the summer – but there is unlikely to be movements until after the World Cup, where he will play a big role for Spain.