Chelsea can finally complete Mauricio Pochettino’s dream move with two ideal deals.

Chelsea transfer news: The Blues were given a lifeline at the end of the knockout stages and could secure a stunning deal if Jadon Sancho finally heads to Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea’s transfer record over the past decade has been a boon. Most clubs have similar stories of failures and deals that went wrong, failed and quickly lost hope. Yet for the same team that secured Eden Hazard past his rivals for £30million, conceded him over 100 goals and then sold him for more than treble, there are players like Alvaro Morata scattered around the small characters.

Morata himself hasn’t proved as bad as he could have been at Chelsea, with a new pantheon of bad deals created in the past two years alone. It’s hard to say, but Romelu Lukaku’s clumsy and disastrous £97.5million move from Inter in 2021 has quite a contender.

A year on from a £60m move for Brighton’s Player of the Season, the club are already considering ending links as soon as possible and in whatever form they can. Marc Cucurella has clearly been a failure and at just 25 it seems hard to imagine how things will change.

The real winner and as often the only winner here is Brighton. They sold Cucurella, joined Pervis Estupinan and could likely salvage over £60million for him, while their former left-back remains unwanted in the top flight just 12 months after his move. Under Thomas Tuchel he was thrilling for a full 30 minutes against Everton before his season and that decision went downhill. The reunion with Graham Potter could not save him, Frank Lampard did not succeed and Mauricio Pochettino has not yet turned to him in the competition. The loan deal, with Lewis Hall almost certain to be sold to Newcastle, is partly due to the arrival of Cucurella.

It’s not that he should be blamed for failed games and high fees for players who too often do very little in modern football to be healthy, but Cucurella’s position as a mere player. The occupation is a place in the team is detrimental to everyone. He has little chance of proving his abilities since he was tried during the preparation for the position of central defender but is now eliminated. Pochettino has to work with a player who is out of shape, lacking in confidence and already sidelined in long-term plans. Nobody wins.

Ian Maatsen is kept out of his more natural role in defence, although even in attack he has been welcomed more favorably by Pochettino and could be the sole beneficiary of Hall’s departure and of what is to come for Cucurella. Ben Chilwell won’t move unless injury mars his season again, so Cucurella is now effectively the third choice for a position in which he specializes.

It’s a regrettable situation, frankly, but Manchester United’s shocking interest opens the door. First of all, Chelsea shouldn’t assume that there’s a real interest in a player they don’t fully need. Concerns over Luke Shaw’s fitness at Old Trafford have given Chelsea a chance to rid themselves of a major problem, if only for a season.

There is a chance here that Cucurella can rebuild his value, form and confidence elsewhere and the stark reality is that even in a bad season his position can hardly deteriorate. Newcastle have expressed interest but have opted for a younger, more flexible model who currently has much more to offer at seven years younger. Saudi Arabia has also not called yet and it would be a brave person to rely on even more clubs expressing many options. Therefore, Chelsea really should be pushed to accept whatever they can get when it comes to keeping Cucurella going for a longer period of time. In return, who knows, they might be able to hit a previous target.

While there is no concrete news linking this to, Chelsea fans have expressed a desire and interest to see the club press Jadon Sancho again in light of possible talks with the Red Devils over Cucurella. Sancho has played in every game so far this season, but hasn’t played more than half an hour off the bench for Erik ten Hag.

Bruno Fernandes, Christian Eriksen, Antony, Marcus Rashford and now Mason Mount are all thinking of Sancho and his return with just nine goals and assists in 58 games is still disappointing to say the least. There have been signs of a return to form which had brought the world – Chelsea included – on the heels of Borussia Dortmund to sign him in 2021, but nothing to offer any real justification for his large investment.

Sancho fell out of favor and fell out of favor. As a childhood Chelsea fan, one is tempted to wonder if this problem can still be solved. The Blues want to sign a new striker before the September 1 window closes. They don’t have a number 10 due to Christopher Nkunku being injured and Sancho could be that man. Some of his best performances in England come from the center where he can act as an elite finisher and dribbler rather than a fast counter-attacker. He has the ability to drift on the flanks and excite. With the clubs currently in direct talks over an expensive flop, why not come up with a different name to at least start a dialogue and see if anything is possible?

For a loan deal, this could be the start of an unexpected but potentially game-changing deal for both parties. After years of waiting, Sancho is someone to consider in the Chelsea squad, even if the prospect of a deal seems far-fetched.