Michael Olise pays Chelsea star ultimate compliment as £60m transfer bargain secured

Bayern Munich winger Michael Olise has been talking about his toughest opponent of his career and has named a Chelsea defender as that

Michael Olise has named Marc Cucurella as his toughest opponent with the ultimate compliment paid to the Chelsea defender.

Cucurella has been outstanding for the Blues ever since the latter stages of the 2023/24 season after what was a rough start at Stamford Bridge. So rough, in fact, that the Spaniard was booed by sections of the Chelsea end at the London Stadium when substituted in the draw at West Ham United in February 2023.

A tactical switch from Mauricio Pochettino towards the end of the former Chelsea head coach's sole season in charge saw Cucurella invert into midfield - and while nowadays, he plays even higher up the pitch under Enzo Maresca, that was a move that changed the course of the Spain international's time at the Blues. Fast forward to the present day and Cucurella is - without doubt - one of the first names on the team sheet under Maresca.

He has become Mr. Reliable. Cucurella has established himself as one of the best left-backs in the Premier League with his performances over the last couple of seasons - with every passing game making the £60million, that was largely scrutinised at the time, the club paid Brighton in August 2022 looking more and more like a bargain deal for the Blues.

Nowadays Cucurella's brilliance is being recognised not only by those watching but those on the field with him. Olise, who came up against the left-back in September during Bayern Munich's 3-1 win over Chelsea at the Allianz Arena, has named the 27-year-old as his toughest opponent to date.

"I've faced a lot of top players over the years but the toughest has to be Marc Cucurella," explained Olise. "I've played against him a couple of times, and trust me, it's never easy."

Cucurella's transformation at Stamford Bridge is remarkable. From being jeered by his own supporters to having his song chanted at seemingly every match. The way the Spaniard is on the pitch with his tenacity, intensity, aggression and all-round ability has seen him endear himself to the Chelsea fans.

The adaptation of becoming a Chelsea player, though, is one Cucurella struggled with.

"At the beginning, it was very tough because the team didn't have maybe the identity of didn't have a clear way to play," Cucurella said in a round-table interview in the United States over the summer. "I think I struggled a little there and then I understood that the club paid a lot of money for me so they expect that I am a machine and I score every game!

"I think with time to think about me, to work on me - it's true that since before I joined Chelsea, I always play like every game, I played more in small clubs so you don't feel this pressure. So when I played at other clubs, it's like when we win, I'm very happy, if we draw it's another point, don't get relegated. But when you come here, you feel like you need to win every game.

"The first games [at Chelsea] I don't feel like I enjoyed, because it's like, me for example, when I win, it's very important, but when you join here, it's like 'you win, okay, it's your job' and you don't celebrate. So it is difficult to feel this pressure but I think I try always to work and improve and I think when I have the injury, I stay a lot of time away and I have the time to think about me and what's good for me and I come back stronger.

"I know that if every day I try to give my best, it's only the best for me so I'm always thinking about it and I can then show my qualities. The most important thing, it's difficult, but it's not to lose any confidence.

"I'm the same player that I was when I signed in my first years but now I have more confidence on me, trust my quality and it's difficult to understand that when you play a good game, you're not the best and when you play a bad game, you're not the worst. You need to always try to stay in the same line. It's an important thing to learn in the big clubs."