Gary Neville brutally doubles down on Chelsea star whose transfer left him stunned

Gary Neville has delivered a brutal Marc Cucurella verdict two years on from questioning his £63million transfer from Brighton to Chelsea. The left-back has endured a very mixed spell at the Blues with significant criticism arriving after his debut season, however in the 2023/24 campaign under Mauricio Pochettino, his performances drastically improved.

With injuries plaguing Chelsea in defence, Cucurella filled in at right-back while also having his role changed towards the end of the season that saw him very successfully invert into midfield. The Blues winning all of their final six Premier League games of 2023/24 was largely down to Cucurella's influence with the 25-year-old giving his take on the position change

"Changing my role has been nice," he told Chelsea's official website. "I try to do whatever I can to help the side and if I play in more positions and it helps the team, I'm happy because I have more possibilities to play.

"I think first in the first part of the season, I played right back as well and as always, I’ll try to do my best to help the team and to win the game. Whenever I’m on the pitch, I'm happy to help out but for sure I like to play this position [inverted left-back].

"I’m confident to go away with the national side. Coming into the tournament, I think I have been playing very well. I think this is my best form since coming to Chelsea." For Spain, Cucurella was asked to do the traditional job of a full-back which saw him make two vital interceptions as Spain attempted to see out their victory against Croatia after racing into a 3-0 lead.

With Cucurella again proving his worth, Neville has been left looking rather foolish following his brutal claim ahead of kick-off. "I didn't think he [Cucurella] would play," Neville told ITV. "He's not been convincing at Chelsea, he's played a few games towards the end of the season.

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"He's aggressive, he's tenacious, he's a busy little full back, that price tag still astounds everybody, I think, still to this day. I think he’s one of the reasons we think Spain probably can’t go all the way." Neville has previously not held anything back on Cucurella with the former Manchester United defender stunned by how much Chelsea paid to sign him in 2022.

“That one just stunned us today,” Neville told Sky Sports regarding Cucurella. “It’s a staggering amount of money and they’ve got Ben Chilwell in that position already. "That’s a massive transfer that’s gone through. That’s the one [summer deal] that stands out for me. Seeing him in a Chelsea shirt… is he going to improve and prove to be worth that sum of money?”