Chelsea's left-back target: Pep Chavarría

The button has been pressed again at Chelsea for a left-back signing. According to the report, the London club have stepped up their pursuit of Rayo Vallecano's Spanish left-back Pep Chavarría and submitted a new offer to the Spanish club. The fresh proposal, said to be worth around €25 million including bonuses, is significantly above the opening bid rejected at the start of the window.

The course of the negotiations shows the gap between the two clubs closing. Chelsea's opening offer, worth less than €15 million including add-ons, had been turned down by Rayo as insufficient. In talks personally overseen by president Raúl Martín Presa, the Spanish club's expectation is a guaranteed fee close to €25 million. The new offer's proximity to that expectation will determine the fate of the transfer.

On the player's side, the picture became clear long ago. The 28-year-old left-back has reached an agreement in principle on personal terms with Chelsea and is keen on the move; he is even reported to have waived some of his financial demands to help the clubs reach a compromise. The architect of the transfer is new head coach Xabi Alonso. Pointing to Chavarría as the priority target to replace Marc Cucurella, who was sold to Real Madrid, the Spanish coach is said to value the player's versatility and tactical intelligence.

Chavarría's profile carries an unusual rise. Making 125 appearances for Rayo since arriving from Real Zaragoza in 2022 and never capped by Spain, the defender featured 44 times last season and did not miss a single minute in the club's historic run to the Conference League final, lost 1-0 to Crystal Palace. In a file that Bayer Leverkusen are also monitoring, eyes are now on Rayo's response to the new offer.

Source: Marca
Image: BBC