How good is Pep Chavarria? What to know about new Chelsea signing to replace Marc Cucurella at left-back

Chelsea have embarked on yet another summer of wheeling and dealing, as the flurry of transfer business under BlueCo ownership never seems to rest.

The Blues have secured the signings of Premier League veterans Danny Welbeck and Jordan Henderson, while bringing Maxence Lacroix over from Crystal Palace and shelling out huge money for Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa.

They also offloaded two key players from last season, with Andrey Santos moving to fellow Premier League rivals Manchester United while World Cup winner Marc Cucurella departed for Real Madrid in the middle of the summer international tournament.

Despite all the activity of incoming signings, that latter departure had yet to be accounted for with a corresponding move in, leaving Jorrel Hato as the only natural left-back on the roster as the club convened to begin its preseason friendly slate. That has changed, however, as Chelsea looked to secure a second wide defender on Cucurella's side, securing a 28-year-old from La Liga.

MORE: Chelsea preseason schedule ahead of the 2026/27 campaign

Who is Pep Chavarria?

Chelsea have reportedly closed in on the signing of Pep Chavarria, a left-back currently playing for Spanish club Rayo Vallecano.

Chavarria began his career in the Spanish lower leagues, first for UE Figueres and then moving to UE Olot in 2018. He was discovered in 2020 by Real Zaragoza, who swooped in for €250,000, before flipping Chavarria two years later to Rayo Vallecano for €1.8 million in the summer of 2022.

At Rayo, he has slowly grown into a more and more important player, logging just 356 league minutes in his first year with the club, with that number increasing each year. He has been deployed 67 times in league play over the last two seasons, combining to reach 5,264 total La Liga minutes.

It is surprising that Chelsea have gone for a 28-year-old player in the midst of his prime, given the club's established transfer strategy under BlueCo ownership of targeting young players with future resale potential.

How good is Pep Chavarria?

Pep Chavarria is a very different left-back from the man he is replacing in the Chelsea squad, a fellow Spaniard in Marc Cucurella.

While Cucurella was well known for his attacking contributions, Chavarria is not nearly as attacking-minded of a full-back. Instead, his strengths lie in his defensive contributions, where he is a monster at winning the ball back and then progressing it forward.

Last season, Chavarria ranked 17th amongst defenders in La Liga for most ground duels won. He can then either pass the ball forward or carry it himself, ranking 18th in all of La Liga for progressive carries while sitting in the 75th percentile for European full-backs in progressive passes.

He also ranked eighth in crosses attempted for all La Liga players last season, indicating a willingness to overlap, but struggled to complete them regularly, with his success rate of 16.5% the lowest of anyone in the top 20 for attempted crosses.

Pep Chavarria transfer fee, salary details

According to reports in England, including David Ornstein of The Athletic, no fee has yet been agreed upon between Chelsea and Rayo Vallecano for the transfer of Pep Chavarria. However, reports in Spain, such as one from Marca, seem to indicate it will be in the vicinity of €25 million ($28.8m/£21.4m), which would be a record sale for the La Liga club.

Ben Jacobs of GiveMeSport, however, indicated that the fee could be a bit lower, with Chelsea's first bid of €15 million ($17.3m/£12.9m) knocked back. Jacobs says that Chavarria has a €50 million release clause, but that was never in discussion.

Personal terms have already been agreed upon, according to Ornstein's report, but no other contract details are known at this point, such as length or wages.

Pep Chavarria goal vs. Atletico Madrid

While Pep Chavarria is not known for his goal scoring, having found the net just twice for Rayo Vallecano across for seasons, he has shown off a long-range ability before.

On September 24, 2025, Chavarria struck in a La Liga match against Atletico Madrid from an outrageous 35 yards, crashing home a piledriver in first-half stoppage time that leveled the game up at 1-1 just before the break.

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