No Chelsea player was on the pitch for longer than Marc Cucurella at the Club World Cup. It is symbolic of his rise to prominence for club and country, which has led to a mammoth 5,000-minute season.
Extend back to June 2024, and Cucurella has amassed over 5,600 minutes in all competitions. He has played 120 minutes on four occasions during that time. It is 67 games in 14 months
That averages out to more than one per week for longer than a year. Consider that Cucurella is supposed to have had six weeks of holiday during that time (reducing the total ‘on duty and playable weeks’ from 60 to 54) he still comes out at over 1.2 matches per seven days.
This may not seem like lots given that footballers are expected to play on at least a weekly basis, but it shows just how much he has been called on. Cucurella is always available, very rarely injured, and is now irreplaceable.
Enzo Maresca used him in 36 of 38 Premier League games. The only two he missed were through suspension. Cucurella started 33 of those and played the full match in all but one of the last 20 fixtures.
Only Moises Caicedo and Cole Palmer played in more individual league games than Cucurella, whilst Levi Colwill also managed more minutes. He is now a European and world champion. He has done most of it without genuine backup.
Compare this to Cucurella’s first year at Chelsea, when he struggled and was nearly loaned out to Manchester United in August 2023, the picture on the left could hardly have been more different at left-back.
Lewis Hall and Ian Maatsen were in the picture to compete as youngsters, both able to invert into the centre of the pitch or offer more natural attacking than Cucurella. Ben Chilwell was already finding it hard to stay on the field due to injuries, but he made it four genuine left-back options for Chelsea moving forward.
Cut to now, and Cucurella is the only orthodox player in that position. Levi Colwill was used there by Mauricio Pochettino but was never truly comfortable. Renato Veiga promised to offer some cover but prefers to play at centre-back and has since been loaned out, on the verge of a permanent exit.
Malo Gusto and Reece James have deputised at points but cannot offer close to Cucurella’s output or comfort in the role. It was, in no uncertain terms, one of the priority spots this summer for Chelsea
Cucurella has proven to be extremely durable both mentally and physically since his £62million transfer but he is human. Chelsea could not afford to enter the new season without providing him with competition or, more importantly, backup
