Brighton and Hove Albion star Marc Cucurella has shared his happiness at the club, particularly as he is proving his doubters wrong.
The Spaniard joined Graham Potter’s side from Getafe in the summer, leaving Spain for the first time in his career in a £16.2m deal.
He’s since established himself as a firm fan favourite on the south coast, making 33 appearances in all competitions so far and starting all of Brighton’s 29 Premier League games to date.
He’s very much a key player for the Seagulls, starring as both a flying full-back and, more recently, as a centre-back in a new-look back three.
That’s been a drastic change for a player who has been a full-back for all of his career so far, but something the Brighton man is more than happy with.
“In the end, what I was looking for was to play as a full-back, which is what I have done all my life,” he told Marca.
“The atmosphere in the Premier League is spectacular. People live for soccer. My partner came with the kids against Brentford and had to leave early.
There were people who said I couldn’t play as a full-back because I couldn’t defend, but now I’m proving I can even play as a centre-back in a back three.
“I had never played left centre back before, but the coach asked me how I would look there, and he has given me the confidence to feel very comfortable.”
Cucurella’s next challenge will be to stop Manchester City as they continue their push for the Premier League title.
Brighton face the reigning champions at the Etihad tomorrow evening and will be underdogs in the game, as most are when taking on Pep Guardiola’s side.
They head into the game full of confidence, though, having recently dented Arsenal and Tottenham’s Champions League hopes with a 2-1 win at the Emirates and then a 1-0 win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Nobody predicted those results, and Cucurella is hoping for another surprise, particularly with Manchester City focused on the Champions League.
“We are at the best moment of the season and they have a couple of absentees and the Champions League semifinal against Real Madrid is coming up,” he added.
“Besides, I’m very happy to be here. The victories against Arsenal and Tottenham have allowed us to boost the team’s morale after a bad run of results”.
