Fabrizio Romano confirms Chelsea agreement for number one Alonso target

7 Aug 2026 06:32 BST | 3 min read

Suraj Radia | Editor

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Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign Rayo Vallecano left-back Pep Chavarria after weeks of negotiations, with Xabi Alonso finally getting his dream replacement for Marc Cucurella.

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Cucurella joined Real Madrid six weeks ago and Chavarria was quickly identified as the ideal player to slot into Alonso’s system when the new Chelsea boss took charge in July.

Current ETV

Pep Chavarría

D (L)

Rayo Vallecano

Pep Chavarría

D (L)

Rayo Vallecano

ETV Range

€7.2M - €9.7M

An offer of €15 million was initially submitted for the 28-year-old, however Rayo had no desire to sell their star defender on the cheap and instead pointed to Chavarria’s €50m release clause.

According to Fabrizio Romano, a fee has now been agreed for an initial €19m, with €2m in add-ons, with Chavarria set to fly in for a medical in the coming hours.

Reports earlier this week revealed that Chelsea were close to finalising an agreement for Chavarria and Romano has now given his trademark ‘here we go’, suggesting a deal is in place.

“Chelsea agree deal to sign Pep Chavarria from Rayo Vallecano, here we go!,” Romano wrote on social media. “Deal done for Spanish left back, €19m fixed fee plus €2m add-ons. Chavarria will now fly for medical and contract signing. Club to club signatures happening tonight.

Chavarria adds to Alonso’s experienced signings as Chelsea close in on left-back

Chelsea’s interest in Chavarria has proven surprising given the Spaniard’s relatively low profile, having only made his top flight debut aged 24 and playing 100 times for Rayo.

© IMAGO - Pep Chavarria is set to join Chelsea.

Chavarria is three months older than Cucurella, which is an intriguing development in Chelsea’s transfer policy, having previously targeted young, unproven wonderkids prior to this summer.

However, Alonso’s arrival has marked a pursuit of more experienced players, with Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck also arriving this summer in equally unexpected moves.

Chavarria is thought to be suited to Alonso’s system, being able to play at left-back or wing-back, while the defender is also open to being a mentor for Jorrel Hato as the 20-year-old matures into a first team regular.

Hato was Chelsea’s only natural senior left-back prior to the deal for Chavarria, although it remains to be seen which player is preferred by Alonso to start the season.