Chelsea are close to agreeing a £16.3 million deal to sign defender Pep Chavarría from Rayo Vallecano, the Press Association understands.
The 28-year-old, who was part of the team that reached last season’s Conference League final, is a left-sided defender and will provide competition for Jorrel Hato following the departure of Marc Cucurella to Real Madrid.
All parties are confident of a deal being struck for a player the Blues have been chasing for much of the summer.
Despite his age, Chavarria has only four seasons of top-flight experience having moved from Segunda Division side Real Zaragoza in 2022.
His signing would continue the trend of Chelsea seeking out more experienced acquisitions under new manager Xabi Alonso, following the arrivals of 35-year-old striker Danny Welbeck from Brighton and 36-year-old Jordan Henderson, who joined on Monday after leaving Brentford.
Chavarria would be the third defensive signing of the summer as the Blues continue to remodel their squad. Right-sided full-back Marco Palestra joined from Atalanta in July, while the arrival of Maxence Lacroix from Crystal Palace was announced last week.
A deal was reached on Monday for defender Trevoh Chalobah to join former Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas at Como as he prepares to lead the club into their first Champions League campaign.
An agreement is in place between the clubs and with the player, with Chelsea due a proportion of any future transfer fee. He will join Cucurella, Tyrique George and Andrey Santos in departing Stamford Bridge.
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After a dismal campaign that saw the club finish 10th, the Blues’ hierarchy acknowledged last season that a change in recruitment policy was required, with a refocusing away from young, inexperienced players towards ones that can help the team compete for the title.
The club broke their transfer record in July to sign Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa for £117m, while Argentina international Valentín Barco joined from Strasbourg on Sunday.
Striker Emmanuel Emegha and winger Geovany Quenda have also been signed.
