Chelsea have wrapped up the signing of Rayo Vallecano left-back Pep Chavarria, according to reports in Spain.
Chavarria further established himself as one of the most sought-after wing-backs in Spanish football last season, making 44 appearances in all competitions while contributing a goal and three assists.
The Blues have been forced to turn to the transfer market for a new left-back after Chavarria’s compatriot Marc Cucurella left the club to join Real Madrid in a £51.8million switch earlier this summer.
Personal terms had already agreed with Chavarria’s camp and the west London giants now have a deal in place with Raya Vallenano after several positive rounds of discussions over the last few days.
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According to Spanish newspaper Marca, the two teams have shaken hands on a €25million (£21.4m) – plus bonuses – deal for the 28-year-old full-back.
The move represents the most expensive sale in Rayo Vallecano’s history and is set to be officially announced ‘in the coming hours’ once Chelsea and Rayo Vallecano have ironed out the last remaining details.
Rayo Vallecano have been forced to relax their initial demands for Chavarria, whose release clause with the La Liga club is set at €50m (£42.8m).
While Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen had also been credited with a strong interest, Chavarria favoured a Premier League move, where he will get the chance to work under fellow countryman Xabi Alonso.
Chavarria had been placed at the top of Chelsea’s shortlist of targets after his profile was identified as being perfectly suited to Alonso’s preferred 3-4-3 system.
The Spaniard is already in England and will be expected to put pen to paper on a long-term contract at Stamford Bridge.
His current deal with Rayo Vallecano is not due to expire until June 2030.
It has been a busy start to the transfer window for Chelsea, who have also secured deals for Morgan Rogers, Maxence Lacroix, Marco Palestra, Danny Welbeck and Valentin Barco – whose arrival was announced on Sunday evening.
Geovany Quenda has also joined up with Alonsos first-team squad for the new season after Chelsea reached an agreement with Sporting for the winger back in March.
‘I’m sure that from today to the last day of the transfer window there will be a lot of links, a lot of rumours, so to be commenting on all of them, it’s going to be a hard task,’ Alonso said of Chelsea’s transfer dealings after the side’s recent pre-season clash with Western Sydney Wanderers.
‘But for sure, we need proper balance in terms of qualities, in terms of positions, in terms of balance.
‘We want to have a complete squad and we want to make a good team.’
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