Chelsea, Rayo Vallecano agree €19+2m Pep Chavarría transfer — report

After weeks of negotiations, Chelsea appear to have successfully struck a deal to sign Pep Chavarría from Rayo Vallecano, and, even better, it appears that we didn’t even get fleeced too badly in the process!

As reported by Fabrizio Romano, the deal has been agreed at €19m, with a further €2m in potential add-ons. This is a lot closer to our initial bid for the 28-year-old left back, €15m, then any subsequent demands from Rayo, some of which may have been as high as €45m. More recent stories spoke of a €25m asking price, but it looks like we got it done below that (about halfway between our first offer and their last demand). Twenty mil is still a decent chunk of change of course, though in today’s market, it really isn’t much at all.

A product of his hometown UE Figueres academy, Chavarría made his name in the third and second tiers of Spanish football before joining top flight Rayo Vallecano four years ago. He’s been a mainstay in their team the last couple years, evidently catching the eye of then Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso in the process.

Chavarría should slot in as our starting left back, as Marc Cucurella’s de facto replacement. While this seems like a move with a relatively low ceiling, it should also be one with a relatively high floor. Chavarría’s known as a tenacious defender, especially 1-v-1, with good physicality and endless stamina: characteristics that should enable him to contribute consistently with those classic 6/7-out-of-10 type of full back performances.