Chelsea are nearing a deal with Rayo Vallecano for defender Pep Chavarria.
The 28-year-old has already agreed personal terms, and the clubs are working toward a package of about £16.3m plus add-ons, with optimism on all sides that an agreement will be reached.
Chavarria, a left-back, is a priority signing for new head coach Xabi Alonso, who came up against him while managing Real Madrid last season.
Chelsea had an opening £15m offer turned down at the end of June. Talks dragged as the Blues felt Rayo kept pushing up the price, at one point pointing to the full £42.8m release clause. Chavarria, meanwhile, told Rayo—runners-up to Crystal Palace in May’s Conference League final—that he wanted the move to Stamford Bridge.
If completed, his arrival alongside new right-back Marco Palestra, a £47m signing from Atalanta in July, would help Alonso reintroduce the wing-back system that underpinned Bayer Leverkusen’s 2024 Bundesliga title win. Chavarria would also bolster the left side following Marc Cucurella’s £51.8m switch to Real Madrid in June.
Chelsea have added further experience with striker Danny Welbeck, 35, from Brighton and Jordan Henderson, 36, after he terminated his Brentford contract. They have also landed a club-record £117m forward, Morgan Rogers, from Aston Villa, and defender Maxence Lacroix from Crystal Palace for £52m, with midfielder Valentin Barco expected imminently from partner club Strasbourg.
Attention is set to turn to departures in the coming weeks, with a deal in place to sell Trevoh Chalobah to Como 1907 for about £31m.