Chelsea have completed the signing of defender Pep Chavarria from Rayo Vallecano on a five-year deal for a fee understood by the Press Association to be £16.3million plus £1.7m in add-ons.
An agreement was reached last week for the 28-year-old to move to Stamford Bridge as the club continue to revamp their squad under new manager Xabi Alonso.
Chavarria, 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.
He told Chelsea’s website: “I’m so excited to get started. This is a dream for me as Chelsea are one of the biggest clubs in the world.
“It is a big opportunity but I am prepared and will work hard to help the team achieve success.”
Despite his age, the defender has only four seasons of top-flight experience having moved from Segunda Division side Real Zaragoza in 2022.
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His signing continues the trend of Chelsea seeking out more experienced acquisitions under Alonso, following the arrivals of 35-year-old striker Danny Welbeck from Brighton and 36-year-old Jordan Henderson, who signed after leaving Brentford.
Chavarria becomes the Blues’ third defensive signing of the summer. Right-sided full-back Marco Palestra joined from Atalanta in July while the arrival of Crystal Palace’s Maxence Lacroix was announced earlier this month. England international Trevoh Chalobah joined Serie A side Como on Sunday.
After a dismal campaign that saw the club finish 10th, the club’s 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 Valentin Barco has joined from Strasbourg.
Striker Emmanuel Emegha and winger Geovany Quenda have also been signed.
