Chelsea are close to completing an agreement with Rayo Vallecano for defender Pep Chavarria in a deal worth about £16.3m, plus add-ons.
The 28-year-old has already agreed personal terms with Chelsea, and negotiations with the La Liga club are now at an advanced stage. All parties are increasingly confident that an agreement can be reached.
Chavarria has emerged as a leading target for Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso, who encountered the left-back while in charge of Real Madrid last season.
Chelsea began talks with Rayo Vallecano at the end of June, but their initial offer of £15m was rejected almost a month ago. The negotiations then became drawn out, with Chelsea believing the Spanish club was increasing its valuation during the discussions.
At one stage, Rayo were understood to be seeking the full value of Chavarria’s £42.8m release clause.
The defender made clear to Rayo that he wanted to move to Stamford Bridge. The club, who lost to Crystal Palace in the Conference League final in May, now appear ready to sanction his departure for a fee substantially below the release clause.
Chavarria’s prospective arrival would strengthen Chelsea’s options at left-back and give Alonso another player suited to the wing-back system that helped Bayer Leverkusen win the Bundesliga title in 2024.
His signing would also help provide cover in the position following Marc Cucurella’s £51.8m move to Real Madrid in June.
Chelsea have already invested heavily in their squad during the summer. Right-back Marco Palestra joined from Atalanta for £47m in July, and his arrival alongside Chavarria would give Alonso the personnel to reproduce the wing-back structure he used successfully at Bayer Leverkusen.
The club have also added further experience to their squad with the arrivals of striker Danny Welbeck, 35, from Brighton and Jordan Henderson, 36, who joined after cancelling his contract with Brentford.
Chelsea completed the club-record signing of forward Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa for £117m and also brought in defender Maxence Lacroix from Crystal Palace for £52m. Midfielder Valentin Barco is expected to arrive imminently from partner club Strasbourg.
The focus is now expected to switch towards player sales in the coming weeks, with Chelsea having reached an agreement to sell Trevoh Chalobah to Italian club Como 1907 for about £31m.
The proposed deal for Chavarria would further reshape Alonso’s defensive options as Chelsea continue to assemble a squad capable of operating with two attacking wing-backs. While the transfer is not yet complete, progress in negotiations means the move is increasingly likely to be finalised.
