Chelsea ‘agree personal terms’ with shock target after No 1 choice rejects Alonso
Chelsea have agreed personal terms with Rayo Vallecano defender, Pep Chavarria, but only after their preferred choice rejected the chance to reunite with Xabi Alonso.
Chelsea waved goodbye to one of their most senior and reliable performers a fortnight ago when selling Marc Cucurella to Real Madrid for a package worth €60m / £51.6m
The departure leaves a gaping void on the left side of Alonso’s defence that Chelsea are attempting to fill by committee.
The Blues have faith in Dutchman Jorell Hato, but he alone won’t be tasked with offsetting Cucurella’s exit.
Chelsea want to provide Alonso with different options in the position in case he opts to deploy wing-backs during his time at Stamford Bridge.
Valentin Barco is arriving from sister club Strasbourg, and while he can play at left-back, he spent most of last season operating in central midfield.
As such, and with a specialist wing-back wanted, our colleagues over on TEAMtalk have broken news of Chelsea trying and failing to sign Alejandro Grimaldo.
Alejandro Grimaldo rejects Xabi Alonso reunion
The 30-year-old worked wonders for Alonso in the left wing-back role during their time at Bayer Leverkusen.
During the club’s historic double-winning season of 2023/24, Grimaldo remarkably bagged 12 goals and 20 assists across all competitions in the campaign.
But while Grimaldo elected to try a new chapter this summer, he chose to return to his home country of Spain by way of Atletico Madrid rather than reunite with Alonso at Chelsea.
Bailey explained: ‘New head coach Xabi Alonso had made Grimaldo one of his priority targets after the pair enjoyed tremendous success together at Bayer Leverkusen.
‘Alonso was keen to reunite with the 30-year-old Spanish international, and sources have confirmed to TEAMtalk that Grimaldo seriously considered a move to Stamford Bridge.
‘However, the lure of returning to his homeland ultimately proved decisive. Grimaldo has now signed a five-year contract with Atletico Madrid, leaving Chelsea to move swiftly onto alternative targets.’
Chelsea agree personal terms with Pep Chavarria – Fabrizio Romano
Accordingly, Chelsea quickly turned their attention to Rayo Vallecano’s Pep Chavarria, and according to Fabrizio Romano, they’ve now agreed personal terms with the 28-year-old.
Taking to X, Romano wrote: “Chelsea have agreed personal terms with Pep Chavarría as new left back, green light from the player.
“Chavarría wants Chelsea and wants to play for Xabi Alonso. Club to club talks underway with Rayo Vallecano and deal close.”
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Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo recently termed Chavarria a ‘surprise’ target for Chelsea, perhaps because at 28, he’s much older than the profile of players BlueCo usually buy.
However, the Chelsea owners are well aware what they’ve done so far has not worked and part of their strategy shift this summer involves buying a handful of more experience stars, and not relying solely on potential.
Regarding cost, this deal won’t be a big one, with MD claiming Chelsea’s initial offer – which was reportedly rejected – was worth just €9m / £7.7m.
