What Makes Pep Chavarria Attractive To Chelsea As Replacement For Marc Cucurella | OneFootball

What to expect from Chelsea for the remainder of the summer window. Video Credit: Absolute Chelsea

Chelsea are close to signing left-back Pep Chavarria after more than a month of negotiations with Spanish side Rayo Vallecano.

The Blues are expected to spend around £16.3 million (€19m) plus add-ons on the defender, which is significantly below his €50m (£42.9m) release clause.

Chavarria is understood to be Chelsea’s number one target to replace Marc Cucurella, who joined Real Madrid earlier this summer.

At 28, he is a few months older than Cucurella.

It is unlikely he would have been on Chelsea’s radar in the previous transfer windows, but Chelsea have clearly shifted their transfer strategy this summer under new manager Xabi Alonso.

The club have brought in several veteran players, such as Danny Welbeck and Jordan Henderson, to complement their younger acquisitions with experience.

Unlike Welbeck and Henderson, however, Chavarria’s name is quite unfamiliar to many Chelsea fans.

This is hardly a surprise, given Chavarria was 24 when he moved from Real Zaragoza, who played in Spain’s second division at the time, to La Liga side Rayo Vallecano.

Since then, he has been a regular starter for Rayo Vallecano in the last two seasons.

A late bloomer, perhaps, but he played a big part in the club’s recent rise, from finishing 17th in 2023/24 and barely escaping relegation to finishing eighth in each of the last two terms.

So what would he offer to Alonso's Chelsea?

More defensively solid replacement for Cucurella

One way to see what Chelsea fans could expect from their potential new left-back is to compare him with the more familiar Cucurella.

Cucurella's summer departure was expected, and Chelsea have identified Chavarria as a left-back replacement. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Firstly, Chavarria is statistically a better defender than the former Chelsea defender.

He contested more duels, won more duels, recovered possession more often, and committed fewer fouls per 90 than Cucurella last season in league competitions.

The one area Cucurella fared better is in the air, where he contested and won more aerial duels than Chavarria despite being similar heights.

Cucurella, however, was more than just a left-sided defender for Chelsea.

The Spain international was a key piece in Chelsea’s attack, playing an inverted role in which he often operated as an extra midfielder.

This is where the two differ.

Chavarria is more of an orthodox fullback who likes to make overlapping runs outside and deliver crosses.

Unfortunately, he is not that great a crosser, either.

The Rayo Vallecano defender ranked 27th in La Liga in attempted crosses last season (97), but only 16 were on target at a 16.49 per cent success rate.

Chavarria still averaged one chance created per 90, just slightly behind Cucurella’s 1.3 chances per 90.

One of the things that Chelsea would miss is Cucurella’s late runs into the box.

Cucurella averaged 2.8 touches in the opposition box per 90 in the Premier League last season, often causing problems for the opposition defence.

In comparison, Chavarria averaged just one touch per 90 in the opposition 18-yard area.

What would Chavarria’s arrival mean for Jorrel Hato?

As it stands, Hato is currently Chelsea’s only natural left-back in the squad.

He made just 12 Premier League starts last season, and he is clearly aware of his limited involvement since joining from Ajax last summer.

“I’ve really enjoyed my time at Chelsea,” the Netherlands international recently told the club’s in-house media.

“Even though I wasn’t playing too much at the start, I never regretted it. I knew that I’d made a good decision to transfer to Chelsea.”

After a year of adjustment in the Premier League, an increase in playing minutes looks likely for the 20-year-old this season.

He is arguably an even better defender than Chavarria, but unfortunately offers very little in attack.

Even so, Hato still has the advantage of being able to operate as a centre-back.

His versatility would allow Alonso to be more flexible with the team shape; for example, if he wants the team to play in a back-three off the ball.