Marc Cucurella has left Chelsea to join Real Madrid in a £52million transfer, meaning he won’t work alongside Xabi Alonso at Stamford Bridge next season

Chelsea captain Reece James says he has been left “devastated” after Marc Cucurella’s exit from Stamford Bridge.

Spain left back Cucurella made a surprise £52million move to Real Madrid and James admits he was sad to see him go. James said: “I spoke with him a few days ago. He’s obviously an amazing player, one of the best left-backs in the world.

“This is his football, you know, players move every few months, and I’m devastated to see him go, but I wish him all the best.”

James revealed he has already spoken to new Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso and his appointment is a major coup for the club. But James says he is excited to work with Alonso after already working with one of his childhood heroes in Frank Lampard.

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James told talkSPORT: “We’ve spoken a couple times on the phone. I haven’t met him (Alonso) in person yet. Everyone I’ve spoken to about him says he’s an amazing, amazing manager. I know him more from his playing career. You know, he had an amazing career, and now I’m excited to welcome him.

“It’s strange. I had it when I was younger with Frank Lampard. He was one of my idols growing up, and then when he stepped in as manager, it was a surreal moment. I’m delighted that Xabi Alonso is our manager, and I’m excited.”

But for now, James is fully focused on England’s World Cup campaign. He earned rave reviews from Thomas Tuchel for his dual role in the 4-2 win over Croatia and is enjoying the environment at the tournament.

James said: “If you look around at the quality of the players we’ve got, we’ve got a lot of world-class players in the team. We’ve got a lot of players that have won big titles, in consecutive years as well, so the winning mentality is there for sure. I think that would probably be the key driver.

“It’s been a dream come true for me. It was a moment I’ve waited for a long time. I had a long season with Chelsea, and I was happy to get called up. I feel the manager trusts trust me. We worked together previously at Chelsea, we won trophies together, and I love playing under him.

“Him as a person, him as a manager, it just connects really well with him. I like his managerial side and his personal side as well.

“If you look across the board of top managers, there’s some amazing managers that are solely football focused, and then there’s some that are very good man-managers and not so good managers. But, for me, he ticks both the boxes.”

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