Troy Deeney has praised the performances of Marc Cucurella, who has been good enough to force Chelsea to sell Ben Chilwell.

Cucurella joined the Blues from Brighton in 2022 but endured a mixed first season at Stamford Bridge.

Since then, he has excelled and won Euro 2024 with Spain this summer, the 26-year-old has been winning. one of Chelsea's best players this season.

Cucurella is second among Chelsea players in the number of completed games in the Premier League this season (359), where he has passed 3.69 final thirds, 2.62 clearances and 4.23 recoveries per 90 minutes.

Marc Cucurella is 'doing better than expected'

Despite his late exit, Cucurella again impressed as Chelsea beat Brentford 2-1 at the weekend.

The Spaniard scored the opening goal just before the end of the period, when he created one chance and played five passes until the final third. Cucurella also accomplished his defensive feat, making two tackles, two tackles, one interception and five fumble recoveries.

Cururella caught the eye of Deeney, who chose the Chelsea man BBC Team of the Week.

"I can't deny that he has been playing well for Chelsea this year. He was sent off at the end of the game, stupidly, but despite that, he is doing what is expected of him," said Deeney.

"When Chelsea first signed him I wasn't sure. But since then he's been a consistent player, until Chelsea finally sold Ben Chilwell. It just shows how the lad has been doing.

"And he had a great finish too."

A combination of Cucurella's form and injuries has meant that Chilwell have failed to make the team for a single Premier League game under Enzo Maresca so far.

England's international debut this season was a 5-0 win over Barrow in the EFL Cup.

As such, Chilwell - who is Chelsea's second highest paid player at £200k per week according to Capology - is linked to a January move away from Stamford Bridge, and Juventus recently as an applicant.