{"id":223950,"date":"2025-06-29T12:16:10","date_gmt":"2025-06-29T12:16:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/223950\/"},"modified":"2025-06-29T12:16:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-29T12:16:10","slug":"manchester-united-were-one-game-away-from-signing-62m-ace-under-erik-ten-hag-now-hes-become-a-cult-hero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/223950\/","title":{"rendered":"Manchester United were one game away from signing \u00a362m ace under Erik ten Hag, now he\u2019s become a cult hero"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Manchester United invested in a new left wing-back in January as Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu completed a move to Old Trafford.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ruben Amorim<\/a> was appointed as Manchester United boss in November, and that meant a switch to his 3-4-2-1 system.<\/p>\n

A true left wing-back was required, and United pounced to sign Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu<\/a> from Lecce.<\/p>\n

The Dane has shown potential in the early stages of his United career, and the hope is that he can be the long-term answer there.<\/p>\n

United have endured a lack of fortune in that area of the pitch, with both Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia going through injury woes.<\/p>\n

Sergio Reguilon wasn\u2019t the answer either, with the Spaniard spending a brief period on loan with United during the 2023-24 season.<\/p>\n

\"Chelsea'sPhoto by Shaun Botterill\/Getty ImagesMarc Cucurella was one game away from Manchester United move<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reguilon joined United from Tottenham Hotspur<\/a> as Erik ten Hag brought in a short-term fix amid injuries to Shaw and Malacia.<\/p>\n

The former Real Madrid man was not the only left-back United considered signing, though, as Marc Cucurella<\/a> almost joined from Chelsea.<\/p>\n

Cucurella joined Chelsea from Brighton and Hove Albion in 2022, with the Blues paying \u00a355million rising to \u00a362million, as noted by The Guardian<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Cucurella failed to shine in his first season with Chelsea, and United were ready to lure him to Old Trafford in August 2023.<\/p>\n

The Athletic<\/a>\u00a0claimed that Cucurella had become Ten Hag\u2019s top target, but the deal fell through as Chelsea ruined United\u2019s plans.<\/p>\n

As the summer transfer deadline loomed, United were locked in talks with Chelsea<\/a> and were hoping to thrash out an agreement.<\/p>\n

No deal was done, and Chelsea decided to play Cucurella in an EFL Cup clash against AFC Wimbledon.<\/p>\n

Not only did that cup-tie Cucurella, but it also meant that he couldn\u2019t move on to a third team if United wanted to cancel his loan in January 2024.<\/p>\n

That is exactly what happened with Reguilon, but Chelsea\u2019s decision to play Cucurella in that game scuppered a move.<\/p>\n

Without Cucurella playing in that one game, he would likely have become a United signing and given himself a chance of earning an extended stay at Old Trafford.<\/p>\n

Cucurella stayed with Chelsea and has now turned his Stamford Bridge career around, becoming something of a cult hero in West London.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Marc Cucurella thriving at the Club World Cup<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cucurella racked up 33 Premier League starts this past season, recording five goals in the process, including one against United.<\/p>\n

A number of wingers struggled to get the better of Cucurella as the Spaniard has turned himself from a misfit to a fan favourite.<\/p>\n

Cucurella\u2019s turnaround at Chelsea has been remarkable, and he is now playing a key role in their Club World Cup campaign.<\/p>\n

Chelsea beat Benfica 4-1 overnight, booking a place in the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup.<\/p>\n

The game went all the way to extra time, but Cucurella played every minute to help the Blues get over the line.<\/p>\n

Cucurella has played a key role in this tournament, and it\u2019s clear that Enzo Maresca values him enormously, keeping him in the starting XI despite a long Premier League campaign.<\/p>\n

Former Arsenal star Gilberto Silva is now a Technical Study Group member for FIFA, and praised Cucurella\u2019s performances on FIFA\u2019s official website<\/a>, highlighting that his ability to invert from left-back and advance into attacking midfield areas is key to Chelsea\u2019s play.<\/p>\n

Cucurella is on the rise under Maresca, and the left-back spot at Chelsea appears to be his to lose, just two years since the Blues were open to letting him join United.<\/p>\n

Who knows if Cucurella\u2019s career would have taken a similar trajectory if he had joined United, but he is certainly making himself a key man for the Blues.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Manchester United invested in a new left wing-back in January as Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu completed a move to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":223951,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,4884,2465,49257,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-223950","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-manchester","12":"tag-marc-cucurella","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114766610051021424","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223950","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223950"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223950\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}