Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella is struggling with the pressure at Stamford Bridge, believes journalist Simon Phillips.
The 24-year-old joined the Blues for big money during the summer but is yet to justify his price tag.
GiveMeSport The Verdict
How has Cucurella performed at Chelsea?
It is probably fair to say that Cucurella is not in the best of form right now. In fact, the same can be said about Chelsea as a whole.
Their 1-0 defeat against Arsenal over the weekend means Graham Potter's men have now gone four games in the Premier League without a win.
Cucurella, who joined Chelsea from Brighton in a deal worth over £60m (via BBC Sport), played in all four of those matches, including the humiliating 4-1 defeat against his former side.
Ultimately, the Spaniard's Chelsea career has not got off to a good start.
What has Phillips said about Cucurella?
Phillips thinks £175,000-a-week Cucurella is struggling with the pressure that comes with playing for Chelsea and feels he is also lacking a bit of confidence at this moment in time.
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, the journalist said: "With Cucurella, he's a proven Premier League player. He got player of the season last year at Brighton and he's consistently done it at a high-quality level, and I think he will continue to do that at Chelsea.
"But right now, I do sense that he might be struggling with the pressure of it all and a little bit with confidence and mentality. That's what it looks like to me from the outside."
Should Cucurella be dropped?
Cucurella is obviously not playing well right now. On the ex-Brighton star, former Aston Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor recently said on talkSPORT: "When I watch Cucurella, since he’s been at Chelsea… maybe [there are] two games maximum where he looked ok.
"He got dragged off after 36 minutes against Manchester United and was sacrificed for [the change of] formation."
He later went on to add: "There’s been too much rotation and Cucurella looks like a bad £60m spent by Chelsea for me."
With Ben Chilwell sidelined with a hamstring injury, though, Potter does not really have any other options for the left-back position going into Chelsea's final two matches before the World Cup.
So while Cucurella probably should not be in the Blues' starting XI right now, there is no other natural replacement for him at present, meaning he is still likely to get the nod for those games against Manchester City and Newcastle United.
You can find all the latest football news and rumours right here