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Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella has admitted that he was 'on his knees' to join Manchester City before completing his move to Stamford Bridge. The Spanish full-back left Brighton to join the Blues in the summer of 2022 as Chelsea beat the Cityzens to secure his transfer for a whopping £55 million (€65m/$67m) plus a potential £7m in add-ons.

How Chelsea beat Man City to sign Cucurella

City wanted Cucurella during the summer of 2022 but the club did not agree with the £50m valuation of the player. The Cityzens submitted an initial bid of £30m, which was rejected and then put forward an improved offer of £40m, which was also rebuffed by the Seagulls. Barcelona were also one of the suitors of the Spain international defender and he was open to a move back to the Catalan outfit. However, the deal could not go through as Brighton stuck to their price tag. Chelsea were given a window to initiate talks and the Blues agreed to pay the amount. During the negotiations, Brighton were also pushing to sign youngster Levi Colwill, who eventually moved to the Seagulls on a season-long loan deal.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportCucurella was ready to 'go on his knees' to join City

Speaking to Informe, Cucurella claimed that he was elated to play under Pep Guardiola when he learned about City's interest, as he said: "Man City wanted me before I joined Chelsea. They were on fire, one of the best teams in the world. I wanted to go. When they come like they did, when Guardiola asks, you’ll go on your knees if necessary. But the clubs couldn’t reach an agreement."

Cucurella credited for helping Estevao in Chelsea's win over Barcelona

Cucurella was instrumental in keeping compatriot and Barcelona's star attacker Lamine Yamal quiet on the left flank as Estevao starred with a goal in the Blues' thumping 3-0 win over the Spanish champions in the Champions League last month. According to the , Cucurella used Esetvao during Chelsea's training sessions and pulled off some really important tackles as he prepared to face Yamal.

The left-back later confirmed this by saying: "Not Yamal vs Cucurella, it's Chelsea vs Barcelona." When asked about his preparation in training for his battle against Yamal, Cucurella added: "I told Estevao to put shin pads on this week because I’m going to be practising on him."

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AFPHow long will Cucurella stay at Chelsea?

The European championship-winning Spanish defender still has three years left in his existing contract, although at the start of the 2025-26 campaign he confirmed that the club have initiated contract talks with him and wants him to remain in west London.

The former Brighton defender said, via : "Yes, it's [the contract renewal] done. We already did it. I'm very happy, the club gave me the confidence and I'm very happy to be here. Hopefully, I will have a great year."

The 27-year-old will be back in action for Enzo Maresca's side on Wednesday as they take on Leeds United away from home. 

Leeds United have had a real problem in front of goal this season. The Whites are one of the strugglers in the Premier League, and look like they’ll be dragged into a relegation battle in their first season back in the top flight.

Indeed, finding the back of the net has been a real issue for Daniel Farke’s side. They’ve only scored ten times in the 2025/26 season, a tally that is only better than rock-bottom Wolverhampton Wanderers.

They’ve underachieved on expected goals, too, which currently sits at 13.36xG.

It is no surprise, then, that the West Yorkshire giants are looking to add a striker to their squad in January.

Leeds’ latest striker target

There have already been rumours swirling about a potential new number nine for Leeds. Indeed, AZ Alkmaar and Republic of Ireland hero Troy Parrott has been linked with the club, after reportedly being looked at in the summer as well.

However, if that move does not materialise, the Whites could instead launch a move for Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Garcia.

TEAMTalk are reporting that the Whites are set to make an ‘imminent’ bid for the Spaniard, after also showing keen interest in him last summer.

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However, they are not the only top-flight side looking to move in for the 21-year-old attacker.

Fellow strugglers Wolves and their Midlands rivals, Aston Villa, could make a permanent move, with Brighton preparing a loan bid.

This is a deal that could cost Leeds upwards of £17m this winter.

Why Garcia would be a good signing

It is clear that the Whites are looking to add to their number nine depth, with Garcia seemingly an apt alternative to Parrott. Indeed, he has become a genuine option for Xabi Alonso at the Bernabeu, despite a lack of game time this season.

The Madrid-born striker has made nine appearances for the club this term, but has been on the pitch for just 109 minutes. However, where he made a real name for himself was at the Club World Cup, where he scored four times and assisted one in just six appearances.

This form led writer Zach Lowy to describe him as a “world-class” operator.

Indeed, his underlying numbers from that competition in the summer showed just how good he can be when leading the line.

For example, the 21-year-old had a conversion rate of 44.44% and was a nuisance off the ball, winning 4.4 duels per 90 minutes.

One person who could be affected by this signing is young Leeds striker Harry Gray. The 17-year-old, who is the younger brother of Spurs midfielder Archie, is one of the finest prospects the club have produced in years.

The striker is one of the most highly thought of youngsters in English football. Football analyst Ben Mattinson once described him as “the real deal,” and it is easy to see why.

He has 18 goals in 27 games for the youth teams across his short career at Elland Road so far, including this hat-trick against Scunthorpe United this season.

Should Garcia make the move to Leeds this winter, it could be a concern that he might block the pathway for Gray. The 17-year-old is clearly rated by Farke, who has already given him his first-team debut last season.

Yet, the Spaniard moving to Elland Road could be bad news. This is a player who has broken into the first team at one of the biggest clubs in the world, scoring crucial goals in the Club World Cup.

It will certainly leave Farke with a choice, but perhaps the signing of Garcia is one that the Whites do not want to turn down.

Gray is a talented player, but four years his junior, and it would be understandable if they signed the Los Blancos star, whose arrival could spell bad news for the teenager.

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By
Kelan Sarson

Nov 20, 2025

Combining consistency with destructiveness, he wrote a new template for T20 batting

Sampath Bandarupalli16-Sep-2024The England series is likely to be the last T20I assignment for Travis Head in 2024, a year that marked his resurgence in the format. Here’s a look at the numbers that show how he combined consistency with destructiveness.182.07 Head’s strike rate across all T20s in 2024, the second-highest among batters with 1000-plus runs in a calendar year, marginally behind Andre Russell’s 182.12 in 2019.2 Players who scored 1000-plus runs in a calendar year in men’s T20s while averaging 40-plus and striking at 175-plus. Suryakumar Yadav in 2022 is the other one.