In a major development, Chelsea left-back Marc Cucurella, who was a target for FC Barcelona this summer, has now reached a verbal agreement to join Real Madrid.. The 27-year-old former La Masia defender will return to Spain, but will play for his boyhood club’s arch-rivals from next season onwards.. Advertisement. Advertisement. Advertisement. Coming into the summer, Barcelona were keeping an eye on the left-back market, amid questions over the continuity of Alejandro Balde.. While the La Masia graduate is not for sale, the Catalans are not ruling out a departure in case a good offer arrives.. In that scenario, Barcelona were looking at Cucurella as an alternative, given his past history and familiarity with the club.. At the same time, however, the 27-year-old defender was also attracting interest from Real Madrid, and has now seemingly agreed to join them, with Fabrizio Romano giving the deal his trademark ‘Here We Go’.. Advertisement. Advertisement. Advertisement. This comes days after Cucurella had downplayed rumours of his departure, saying:. “Right now I don’t want to talk about that. The truth is that I am very happy where I am. I am happy, my family is very happy, but at the moment I don’t know anything.. This will be the second transfer of the summer that Real Madrid have beaten Barcelona to, after swooping in for Bernardo Silva previously.. Headed to Madrid. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images). As far as Barcelona are concerned, Cucurella’s move to the Santiago Bernabeu will not be seen as a major setback as the club continue to have full faith in Balde.. Advertisement. Advertisement. Advertisement. Indeed, the young Spaniard continues to be rated highly by the Blaugrana and there will be no departure unless the player himself asks for it.. Even in case of a possible exit, another former La Masia star, Alejandro Grimaldo, could be an option for the La Liga champions.. The Spanish international, for his part, has also expressed his desire to return to his homeland from Bayer Leverkusen this summer.