Why it makes sense for Barcelona to replace Alejandro Balde with Marc Cucurella

[p][a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/7AwkQDSpYW372vl80vvuzk?si=9GQEdc8FQvSSFL2Fsaj85g"][b]Listen to an audio version of this article on Spotify here![/b][/a][/p][p]Whether [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/silva-bernardo/lUg03qcR/"]Silva[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/alvarez-julian/bBHauDIC/"]Alvarez[/a] actually start the season wearing the Blaugrana shirt will be seen in due course, though what's abundantly clear is that the Catalan giants are making moves to shake up the market.[/p][h2]Cucurella on Barca's radar[/h2][p]Another player seemingly on their radar is [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/chelsea/4fGZN2oK/"]Chelsea[/a]'s [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cucurella-marc/QTynbZd3/"]Marc Cucurella[/a], the 27-year-old who made a number of appearances for Barcelona B before being loaned and subsequently sold to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/eibar/OEsEpExD/"]Eibar[/a], bought back by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/barcelona/SKbpVP5K/"]Barcelona[/a], and then sent on another loan to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/getafe/dboeiWOt/"]Getafe[/a], who subsequently purchased him.[/p][p]From there, Cucurella began his Premier League sojourn at [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/brighton/2XrRecc3/"]Brighton[/a], leading to his transfer to Stamford Bridge.[/p][embed guid="ef07e1a0-18e2-4b77-85c5-8d2209a4fd68" url="https://x.com/FabrizioRomano/status/2038698698285211954?lang=en" social-type="twitter" /][p]Despite only signing a new deal with the Blues last summer, it's understood that the marauding left-back is very unhappy with how the 2025/26 campaign panned out, and isn't averse to returning to Camp Nou. Importantly, Chelsea aren't expected to stand in his way if he decides to leave.[/p][p]What would his potential purchase mean for current Barca left-back, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/balde-alejandro/6c0CXHVM/"]Alejandro Balde[/a], though, and how do the two players compare?[/p][h2]Superb passing stats[/h2][p]Not including the Club World Cup, which took place last summer, Cucurella created 50 chances in 25/26 (including assists), the third-best return in the Chelsea squad. Only [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/neto-pedro/lxtnUkIP/"]Pedro Neto[/a] (80) and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fernandez-enzo/nZnbEVWP/"]Enzo Fernandez[/a] (98) created more.[/p][p]In terms of total passes, only [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/caicedo-moises/tIqaAkDs/"]Moises Caicedo[/a] (3,138), [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/chalobah-trevoh/2N61AJte/"]Trevoh Chalobah[/a] (2,961), Fernandez (2,850), and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fofana-wesley/Aw7tVHPM/"]Wesley Fofana[/a] (2,077) made more than the left-back's 1,999.[/p][p]An 87.79% pass completion from Cucurella was also one of the best of the last campaign.[/p][image alt="Marc Cucurella pass map - Premier League 2025/26" id="ef2b3f4d-c5c9-40a1-bfb3-0dd1461d769a" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="bb293042-8660-4d82-b24d-c379a07b383f" original-width="768" original-height="576" /][p]Neto (153), Malo Gusto (97), [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/garnacho-alejandro/jqrfFKsi/"]Alejandro Garnacho[/a] (85) and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/james-reece/nLBC7ERa/"]Reece James[/a] (62) are the only players to have made more crosses than the 27-year-old (56, level with Fernandez), however, no one can top Cucurella's crossing accuracy of 26.79%.[/p][h2]Not shirking his defensive duties[/h2][p]In terms of tackles attempted, Caicedo's 128 was the most by a Chelsea man last season, with the left-back's 85 a distant second. Cucurella's 69.41% success rate placed him top of the tree again, however.[/p][p]119 clearances across the campaign were bettered only by Chalobah (230), Fofana (187) and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/adarabioyo-tosin/6w8mLnxQ/"]Tosin Adarabioyo[/a] (124), whilst the trio's 132, 105 and 81 headed clearances respectively, were also ahead of Cucurella's 58.[/p][image alt="Marc Cucurella touch map - Premier League 2025/26" id="2bbd9f3c-3e07-422f-80b8-1b533217cb7b" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="64cbb245-0c4a-4cc5-bdd4-4bfd072071cf" original-width="768" original-height="576" /][p]Never one to shirk away from a one-on-one challenge, the Spaniard's 332 attempted were the fifth most in Chelsea's squad, with his 53.31% success rate being one of the highest.[/p][p][b]Balde's season was disrupted by injury, though he still had plenty of chances to continue to make Barcelona's left-back spot his own.[/b][/p][h2]No fast breaks from speedy Balde[/h2][p]Given his speed, it's a bit of a surprise that the 22-year-old made no fast breaks whatsoever in 25/26. As and when he did get forward, his shot accuracy of 27.27% - the worst in Barca's squad - let him down badly.[/p][p]He can at least be more than happy with a 91.89% pass completion stat, though 33 chances created were well down on many of his teammates and, significantly, way worse than Cucurella.[/p][image alt="Alejandro Balde radar graphic - LaLiga 2025/26" id="3cce6efe-8fe8-4a80-979c-adf7e639b2cd" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="38602b0d-3894-488c-b1c2-2892ac477bda" original-width="768" original-height="576" /][p]Balde's 62.5% tackle success rate is laudable, too, until you realise that he attempted just 48 all season, less than all of his defensive colleagues ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/garcia-eric/2D2wHSbm/"]Eric Garcia[/a] (97), [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kounde-jules/v36QVRPu/"]Jules Kounde[/a] (77), [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cubarsi-pau/UgTrNwCF/"]Pau Cubarsi[/a] (60), [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/martin-gerard/nBVu0v9a/"]Gerard Martin[/a] (56)) bar [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cancelo-joao/dAyeWYpm/"]Joao Cancelo[/a]'s 33 (he only joined the club in January), and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/araujo-ronald/M3sbJix9/"]Ronald Araujo[/a]'s 30, with the Uruguayan starting in 15 games less than the left-back.[/p][p]One area where he did reasonably well was with regard to one-on-one duels. 230 were attempted, to keep him in the top 10 at the club last season, with 136 of them successful, giving him a decent 59.13% showing.[/p][h2]Stalled progression?[/h2][p]After breaking into the first team in 2021, Balde's progression has arguably stalled, and whilst he's still only 22 years of age and has many years to improve, it's perfectly understandable as to why Hansi Flick and the Barcelona board might be looking to Cucurella to fill that spot on the left side of the Catalan club's defence.[/p][embed guid="2109d095-b010-4d0b-96f6-b6e1a3fef838" url="https://x.com/FCBarcelona/status/1868385403478192402" social-type="twitter" /][p]Undoubtedly, the biggest question mark facing the Barca board is whether there will be enough money in the kitty to bring the Chelsea man back home, given the number of years he has left on his contract with the Blues.[/p][p]A willingness from Cucurella to leave Stamford Bridge might bring the price down a little, but owners Clearlake Capital have no real immediate urgency to sell, and so hold all the aces in any potential deal.[/p][image alt="Jason Pettigrove" id="3916116a-e277-41a0-ae4b-c4b2427b8155" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="0c2a43d8-c0d0-417b-8538-f5acfcd569ee" original-width="1200" original-height="380" /]