Chelsea are edging closer to bringing in Rayo Vallecano left-back Pep Chavarria, with the clubs reportedly working toward an agreement worth around £16.3m plus add-ons. According to the report, the 28-year-old has already settled personal terms with the Premier League side, and confidence is growing that the transfer will go through.
The move has been in progress for several weeks. Chelsea first made a bid of £15m at the end of June, but that offer was turned down by the Spanish club. Talks then continued at a slower pace, with the report saying Rayo’s asking price increased during negotiations and, at one stage, reached as high as Chavarria’s £42.8m release clause. Chavarria, meanwhile, made clear that he wanted to join Chelsea.
Chavarria has been identified as an important target for new manager Xabi Alonso, who previously came up against him while in charge of Real Madrid. His arrival would give Alonso another option at left-back and add to the squad’s depth in that area, especially after Marc Cucurella moved to Real Madrid in June for £51.8m. The report also links Chavarria’s potential signing with Alonso’s preferred wing-back setup, similar to the one he used at Bayer Leverkusen in their 2024 Bundesliga-winning campaign.
Chelsea have been active in the market already, with several additions made and more expected. The report says the club is now likely to turn more of its attention to player sales, and Trevoh Chalobah is set to move to Como 1907 for about £31m. Chavarria would add further experience to a squad that has also brought in older players this summer, alongside a number of other high-profile arrivals.
Source: bbc.co.uk
