Chelsea are pushing to finalise a deal for Rayo Vallecano left-back Pep Chavarria this week, with personal terms already agreed between the player and the club.
The move comes as a direct response to Marc Cucurella’s departure to Real Madrid, leaving Xabi Alonso needing to address a key position early in his first pre-season as Chelsea boss.
According to Marca in Spain, as relayed by Sport Witness, Chelsea are eager to wrap up the transfer quickly and have made significant progress on the personal side of negotiations.
The stumbling block remains the club-to-club agreement, with Rayo Vallecano rejecting Chelsea’s opening offer of €15m and pointing firmly toward Chavarria’s €50m release clause.
Chelsea’s initial €15m bid fell well short of what Vallecano are demanding, and it remains to be seen whether BlueCo can negotiate a middle ground or will be forced to trigger the full release clause.
If Chelsea want a swift resolution, paying the full £43m fee may ultimately be their only option to land the 28-year-old Spaniard.
Chavarria brings genuine quality to the position, completing 17 dribbles from fullback in La Liga last season, placing him in the top 20 for defenders in that category.
Defensively, he was equally reliable, recording 141 recoveries across the campaign, comparing favourably to Cucurella’s own impressive numbers from his time at Stamford Bridge.
At 28, Chavarria represents more of a short-term solution than a typical Chelsea signing under the BlueCo recruitment model, which has tended to focus on younger players with long-term development potential.
Many supporters may welcome a departure from that approach given the mixed results it has produced, though the age factor does limit how long Chavarria could realistically serve as the club’s first-choice left-back.
Chelsea have already welcomed Marco Palestra from Atalanta this summer, and securing Chavarria would make him the club’s second signing of the pre-season window under Alonso.
The smart approach for those at Stamford Bridge would be pairing Chavarria with a younger left-back option, giving Alonso both experience and future planning in that area of the pitch.