Morgan Rogers arrived from Aston Villa for a £117 million mega money move, while Maxence Lacroix, Geovany Quenda, Marco Palestra and Danny Welbeck have also joined.
Those additions have strengthened several areas, but Marc Cucurella’s departure created a clear vacancy on the left.
The Spain international moved to Real Madrid in a deal worth up to £52 million after making 163 appearances for Chelsea, and Jorrel Hato is expected to receive more responsibility following Cucurella’s exit.
The 20-year-old can play at left-back or centre-back and showed promise during a difficult campaign, but asking him to cover both positions without another specialist would reduce Alonso’s options.
Chavarria would arrive with a very different profile.
The 28-year-old began his senior career with UE Figueres before spending two seasons at Olot. He then joined Real Zaragoza in 2020, completing two full campaigns in Spain’s second division, but moved to Rayo Vallecano soon after for just north of £1 million in 2022.
After two seasons in the Spanish second division, he moved to Rayo Vallecano just north of £1 million and became an established starter.
Chavarria has now made 106 La Liga appearances for Rayo, recording two goals and six assists from the left, but his strongest campaign came last season as Rayo finished eighth and conceded only 44 league goals, the fourth-best defensive record in the division.
He started 29 of his 33 La Liga appearances, contributing one goal and two assists under Inigo Perez.
Chavarria also helped Rayo reach the Conference League final, where they were narrowly beaten by Crystal Palace.
Chelsea’s manager has regularly used a back three with attacking wing-backs, demanding width, pressing and defensive recovery from the players on either side.
Chavarria can operate as a conventional left-back or further forward as a wing-back, offering cover for Hato without blocking the Dutchman’s pathway.
Negotiations have nevertheless proved difficult.
Chavarria has agreed personal terms and wants to join Chelsea, leaving the two clubs to settle the transfer fee.
Other reports claimed Chelsea were initially encouraged to offer £13 million, only for Rayo to increase their demands after that figure was reached.
Rayo’s position was later reported to centre on a release clause worth around £42 million, considerably more than Chelsea wanted to pay.
Chelsea talks for Pep Chavarria progressing with new offer made
Fabrizio Romano has now revealed that Chelsea have improved their proposal.
The transfer reporter says talks with Rayo are moving forward after the Blues submitted a new bid for the defender specifically requested by Alonso.
Romano has not disclosed the value of the latest offer or suggested that a full agreement has been completed.
However, the improved proposal and continued negotiations indicate Chelsea have not walked away despite the earlier disagreement over Chavarria’s valuation.
Selling below the clause would still deliver a substantial profit for Vallecano.
For Chelsea, Chavarria would provide an experienced and tactically suitable replacement within a squad still dominated by younger players.
The remaining question is whether their improved offer is finally enough to persuade Rayo to compromise.
2 weeks ago
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