Chelsea mock Brighton with sarcastic Twitter dig after confirming '£63m' Marc Cucurella deal

Cucurella, 25, had been the subject of intense transfer speculation throughout the summer and earlier in the window seemed destined to move to Premier League champions Man City.

Pep Guardiola's team however refused to meet Brighton's valuation and Chelsea seized their chance with a deal that could rise to £63m.

Brighton held firm on their price during talks with the Blues and earlier this week sent out a tweet from their official account, stating:

"CLUB STATEMENT: MARC CUCURELLA.

"Contrary to inaccurate reports from numerous media outlets this evening, no agreement has been reached with any club to sell Marc Cucurella."

Today, however, the deal was finalised and Chelsea seemed to mock Albion's previous tweet with this statement from their official account:

"CLUB STATEMENT: MARC CUCURELLA.

Following reports from numerous media outlets this week, we can confirm an agreement has been reached with Brighton and Hove Albion for the signing of Marc Cucurella."

Both tweets were set out in the same style and it appears that there is little love lost between the two camps, despite the ultimately successful negotiation.

One that saw Brighton receive a record fee for a player they signed late in last summer's window for £15.4m from Getafe.

Head coach Graham Potter said, "We did not want to lose Marc, but he wanted the opportunity of playing Champions League football with a view to accelerating his progress to Spain’s World Cup squad.

"Of course we are disappointed to see Marc leave, but we wish him well for the future. He had an excellent first season in the Premier League, deservedly winning both our Player of the Season awards, and has been an absolute pleasure to work with over the past 12 months."

Chief executive and deputy chairman Paul Barber added, "We did not want or need to sell Marc, despite interest from different clubs. We wanted to keep him at Brighton where he has done so well.

“However, recognising Marc wanted the opportunity to play in the Champions League, our absolute priority was to ensure any deal was the right one for Brighton & Hove Albion.

"We have worked very hard with Chelsea over the past week or so, and particularly in the past 24 hours, to secure the right valuation for an exceptional player."