'He's very important' - Enzo Maresca lavishes praise on Marc Cucurella and insists he needs 'seven' players like him in his Chelsea team

Ahead of the Spaniard facing his old Brighton side this weekend, Chelsea head coach Maresca was asked about the left-back's performances this season. The former Leicester City boss heaped praise on the 26-year-old and said that he improves his team-mates, too.

He told reporters on Friday: "Marc [Cucurella] is very important. Marc has something that you sometimes struggle to find in players. He is good and he is making the players around him good because he is a guy who is always talking, always demanding. If you can have five, six or seven players like Marc in your team, who are always talking about improving the rest, it’s very important. So I’m very happy with Marc."

After a difficult year or so for Chelsea, following his £62 million ($83m) switch from Brighton in 2022, Cucurella has come into his own for his club and Spain especially in 2024. He played a key role in his country's Euro 2024 triumph and the full-back appears to have carried that form into this season with Maresca's side.

Cucurella is likely to start for his Chelsea team - who sit fifth in the Premier League - at home to Brighton on Saturday afternoon, before taking on Gent in the Europa Conference League next Thursday.