Report: Chelsea set to beat City to Cucurella signing with £50M offer

Chelsea have swooped in with a bid to buy Manchester City target Marc Cucurella from Brighton & Hove Albion.

The Blues are understood to be closing in on an agreement to sign the Spanish left-back in a deal worth £50 million, reports Jacob Steinberg of The Guardian.

Cucurella reportedly handed in a transfer request last week after Manchester City approached Brighton. The 23-year-old was apparently keen on moving to the Etihad Stadium, but Manchester City were unwilling to match Brighton's asking price.

Now it seems the defending Premier League champions are out of the race altogether. Brighton rejected two of their bids, and City have refused to offer more than £40 million, reports The Telegraph's Matt Law.

Meanwhile, Chelsea may have to include Levi Colwill in their deal if Brighton ask for the 19-year-old center-back, Steinberg adds.

Chelsea are in the midst of overhauling their defense following the departures of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen earlier this summer.

After adding center-back Kalidou Koulibaly, the west London outfit is eager to sign Cucurella, who joined the Seagulls from Getafe last year, despite having a star left-back in Ben Chilwell. There's a possibility, however, that the two left-footed defenders could play together given Cucurella's ability to shift into different defensive roles.

Cucurella's potential arrival could also pave the way for the departure of Marcos Alonso, who's been linked with a transfer to Barcelona.