The Key Transfer Talks With Xabi Alonso That Convinced Pep Chavarria To Join Chelsea Revealed | OneFootball

A busy summer transfer window for Chelsea - how will it pan out? Video Credit: Absolute Chelsea

New Chelsea signing Pep Chavarria has opened up about his conversation with manager Xabi Alonso that led to his decision to join the club.

Chavarria is another summer signing that demonstrates the shift in Chelsea’s transfer strategy under Alonso. At 28, the defender is a few months older than Marc Cucurella, whose transfer to Real Madrid left a void in the squad that Chavarria is supposed to fill.

Rather than gambling on another young talent, Alonso clearly wants a more reliable alternative to add experience to his squad.

“Yeah, I spoke with Xabi,” Chavarria told Chelsea’s in-house media in his first interview as a Blue.

“I’m here thanks to Xabi. For me, he’s one of the best coaches right now.

“I spoke with Xabi, and he said, ‘Feel good and do the same. Don’t change.’”

Chavarria added: “He explained his ideas and how I can fit into that.

“He wants my intensity, those one-on-ones, box-to-box attacking and defending runs - and this is how I play.”

Chavarria has penned a contract until June 2013, signing from Rayo Vallecano for an initial fee of €19 million plus add-ons.

The defender mostly played as a left-back in a 4-3-3 formation at Rayo Vallecano last season, providing strong defensive coverage for the Spanish side.

He won the third-most duels (129) at Rayo Vallecano in La Liga last season and ranked fourth for ball recoveries (141). This highlights the work rate that Chelsea can expect from their new left-back.

After all, while there are some differences, Chavarria shares similar qualities with Cucurella, too.

It remains unclear whether Alonso will primarily use a 4-2-3-1 or a 3-4-2-1 formation, the two formations Chelsea used in the pre-season tour in Australia and Asia. Still, Chavarria should be able to play both as a full-back and a wing-back.

In a back-three formation, Chavarria is likely going to be the first-choice wing-back, given that Jorrel Hato is more suited to play as a left-side centre-back in this structure.

Marco Palestra and Jamie Gittens played in this role in the recent pre-season matches, and fellow summer signing Valentin Barco, while primarily a midfielder, could also be an option.

Chelsea’s final pre-season friendly, against Real Sociedad at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, August 15, may shed some light on which shape the team will start the season with under Alonso.

There should be enough time for Chavarria to train with the team and be involved in the friendly match this weekend.

This also applies to the seven players who started their pre-season on Tuesday: Reece James, Morgan Rogers, Jordan Henderson, Enzo Fernandez, Valentin Barco, Malo Gusto and Maxence Lacroix.

Emmanuel Emegha also returned to training with this group after missing out on the pre-season tour due to a hamstring injury.

Chelsea have almost two weeks before their season-opening match against Fulham at Craven Cottage on Monday, August 24.

Alonso and the summer signings, including Chavarria, will play their first official home match in a Carabao Cup second-round tie against League One side Luton Town on Thursday, August 27.