Chelsea flop 'playing at a higher level' in controversial claim

Stuart Telford

• Updated: 30 May 2024 09:35 BST
• 3 min read

Cole Palmer may not be the only success story from the Todd Boehly spending spree at Chelsea according to one pundit.

Chelsea have spent more than €1 billion on players since Boehly replaced Roman Abramovich in ownership of the club in May 2022, but the return on investment has been poor.

The Blues could only finish sixth in the season just finished, five points outside of the Champions League places.

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Palmer seemed at times last season to be the lone bright spark in an otherwise abject side, the £40 million arrival from Manchester City ending the campaign with 22 goals and 11 assists from 33 Premier League outings.

Marc Cucurella has been held up as a counter-example, meanwhile, the Spaniard who became world's most expensive left-back after his initial £55m arrival from Brighton, which could rise to £62m with add-ons.

But Simon Jordan thinks the player could be worth a second look.

READ MORE: Chelsea’s 10 most expensive transfers of all time

What did Jordan say?

"We look at their spend pattern and people were talking about Cucurella and how useless he was and how much money they spent on him," he told talkSPORT.

"But no one's mentioned that Cucurella's been picked for the Spanish national squad [for the upcoming Euros], so obviously he's at a level now where people think he's operating at a higher level."

Spain aren't exactly enjoying a golden generation at the moment, however, and Bayer Leverkusen's Alex Grimaldo looks like the favourite to inherit Jordi Alba's role in the team.

When fit, Ben Chilwell remains first choice at Chelsea, and Mauricio Pochettino - now departed - even played centre-back by trade Levi Colwill in the position at times last season.

Cucurella scored well for tackles, blocks and pass completion last season, but Pochettino successor Enzo Maresca, who likes inverted full-backs, might expect greater attacking output than two assists 21 games next term.