Enzo Maresca handed £62m Chelsea transfer gift as ridiculed star secures undroppable status

Imagine seven-or-so months ago if I told you Marc Cucurella is the best left-back in the Premier League. You would have laughed. Undoubtedly.

However, just over seven months on, you can make a serious case for it. I say seven months because you can actually pinpoint the moment it all changed for the Spaniard.

Cast your mind back to a chilly night at Villa Park. Cucurella actually scored an own goal just four minutes in. Morgan Rogers put Aston Villa two goals ahead just before half-time. Noni Madueke and Conor Gallagher both scored in the second half to earn Mauricio Pochettino's Blues a point in the Midlands.

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At half-time during the game, Pochettino made a tactical tweak. Cucurella, who was used as a conventional left-back in the opening 45 minutes, saw his role changed slightly. While Chelsea had possession of the ball, the Spain international would tuck into the centre to give the Blues another option in the middle of the pitch.

It is something we had seen plenty of from the likes of Pep Guardiola but not something we had seen Pochettino do. Chelsea gained so much more control in the second period and the role Cucurella found himself in all of a sudden seemed to be the ideal fit for his attributes and ability.

After the draw at Villa Park, Chelsea had five more Premier League games left to play in the 2023/24 season. Cucurella was used in a similar role for all of those matches and he shone to finish off the campaign for the Blues.

When Pochettino was sacked and Enzo Maresca was brought in to replace the Argentine, it was clear we would see Cucurella used in a similar sort of role because of what Italian coach did with Leicester City last season. He had already shown to the world that he liked his full-backs to tuck in, or even sometimes be used as an attacking No.10.

Despite Ben Chilwell, the club's vice-captain, being fit and available from the start of the season, Maresca stuck all of his faith in Cucurella. Chilwell has not had a sniff this season. Cucurella is - and always has been - Maresca's man.

"Marc is very important," Maresca said in September. "Marc has something that you sometimes struggle to find in players. He is good and he is making the players around him good because he is a guy who is always talking, always demanding.

"If you can have five, six or seven players like Marc in your team, who are always talking about improving the rest, it's very important. So I am very happy with Marc."

Signed in the summer of 2022 for £62million from Brighton, it has not always been easy and straightforward for the 26-year-old at Stamford Bridge. However, with each passing game, he is growing and growing in confidence and his significance to the team now is enormous.

Against Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon, ironically given the beginning of his so-called redemption can be pinpointed to the draw at Villa Park earlier in the year, he was once again outstanding. Cucurella played a huge role in the opening goal of the game; anticipating a mistake from Jaden Philogene and stealing the ball from the Villa man before delivering a fine cross into the path of the in-form Nicolas Jackson, who did the rest.

In Chelsea's official Player of the Match vote, 23% of fans chose Cucurella to be given the award for his performance at Stamford Bridge on Sunday - with Cole Palmer eventually winning the poll with 40% of votes. The Spaniard registered more successful passes (105/109), more successful tackles (4/5) and more headed clearances (two) than any other player in the victory in SW6.

That sort of aggression off the ball has made Cucurella a huge fan favourite amongst a group of supporters that not too long ago had massive doubts and reservations - understandably so - over the Spain left-back. While he is frantic out of possession, when his side has the ball, he is so calm and composed.

Not often does Cucurella give it away. He keeps the play ticking so nicely for the Blues - and that is exactly what Maresca wants from those in midfield. Patience.

It has been an incredible seven-or-so months for Cucurella, who played a big role in Spain's European Championships triumph over the summer. There is now, like I say, a real, real case for Cucurella to be named the best left-back in the Premier League right now. Who's better?