If Chelsea want to cash in on Marc Cucurella, this summer is the best time to do it.The news broken by The Athletic that Cucurella is being targeted for a move away from Stamford Bridge — and the fact he is open to it — shows that parting ways looks likely. As reported, new manager Xabi Alonso wants the left-back to stay but has been made aware of the Spain international’s willingness to explore a move.Chelsea are not actively looking to sell Cucurella in this window, but he has not been deemed an ‘untouchable’ either. Should someone meet their valuation, then they will not stand in Cucurella’s way. And herein lies the crux of the argument of why, if the deal is right financially, it makes a lot of sense.Cucurella’s value will not be any higher than it is now. For starters, he has three years remaining on his contract, so Chelsea still have a very strong bargaining position to get a large sum.The left-back turns 28 next month. While not an exact science, an outfield player’s value tends to deteriorate the closer they get to 30 because they are moving towards the latter stage of their career.Cucurella is also part of Spain’s World Cup squad. As he showed during Spain’s victory at the 2024 European Championships, Cucurella is a key member of the national team, and that also heavily influences the price tag. Should Spain and Cucurella do well in the forthcoming tournament, then that will only increase the kind of fee Chelsea can ask for.Now, there is a price to be paid. One of the main criticisms levelled at Chelsea is their lack of leaders and characters in the dressing room. Cucurella certainly qualifies as both. He was one of the first signings of the Todd Boehly-Clearlake era when he joined from Brighton & Hove Albion for a deal worth up to £63million (including add-ons) in 2022.After a very difficult first season at the club, which led to Manchester United enquiring about a loan move in 2023, Cucurella has established himself as one of the best left-backs in the Premier League. He was in the starting XI when Chelsea won the Conference League and Club World Cup against Real Betis and Paris Saint-Germain, respectively, last year.With Alonso making it clear during his interview process for the job that he wants to build a squad of ‘mentality monsters’, he will be losing a big personality should Cucurella move.Sources, speaking to The Athletic under the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, say that Chelsea regard next summer as the ideal slot to either extend his current deal or part ways.But what if he did leave in 2029, one year into Alonso’s rebuild? That would cause more harm than good. It is better for Alonso to start his reign with players who are fully committed to what he is trying to do from the outset rather than go after 12 months, leaving him needing to find a replacement anyway.Xabi Alonso wants to keep Cucurella (Clive Mason/Getty Images)Chelsea do have money to spend this summer. But failing to qualify for the Champions League, or the other two European competitions for that matter, is going to have an impact on income. Clearly Cucurella’s sale can help generate funds that can be put into the transfer kitty.By questioning decisions made by the Chelsea hierarchy during an interview with The Athletic in March as well as his openness to a move, Cucurella has not exactly given the impression he is happy with how things are going. While sources insist relations between the club and the player are in a good place, keeping someone who is having such doubts could backfire.It is not as if Cucurella enjoyed his best season in a Chelsea shirt in 2025-26. One of the areas of his game which really stood out in 2024-25 was his goal threat. He scored seven times and made four assists, which is exceptional for a left back. While the amount of assists remained the same in the last campaign, he found the net just once.Chelsea were not solid defensively in the second half of the season too, ending with a run of 16 league games without a clean sheet. The club also picked up just four points from their last nine matches in the top division. While obviously not suggesting Cucurella was solely to blame for such a run, he was a first-team regular throughout this period.One of the best performers since January, despite the disappointing results, was 20-year-old Jorrel Hato. Chelsea bought him from Ajax for a fee in excess of €40m last year. The Netherlands international proved he is a player of some talent at left-back as well as at centre-back during 37 appearances. He will have a great opportunity to become even more of a mainstay of the side if Cucurella seeks pastures new.While Chelsea have been criticised for a lot of the signings made since the Todd Boehly-Clearlake consortium arrived on the scene four years ago, Cucurella is widely regarded as one of their clear successes. But that doesn’t mean they should not listen to offers for him now.