Chelsea Step Up Pursuit Of Defensive Target | OneFootball

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Chelsea are stepping up their pursuit of Rayo Vallecano left-back Pep Chavarria and the Blues are set to make a new offer for the Spaniard.

The London club finished as low as tenth in the Premier League last season, as they missed out on European football completely.

However, they appointed Xabi Alonso as their new boss and are looking at a rebuild under the Spaniard, who has been keen on Sunderland’s Granit Xhaka.

On top of that, Chelsea lost their star left-back, Marc Cucurella, who joined Spanish giants Real Madrid.

They pocketed a hefty €60m transfer fee for the Spain international’s departure this summer and are looking to sign a new left-back.

Leeds United’s Gabriel Gudmundsson emerged as an option for the Stamford Bridge outfit, but they moved on to other options.

Chelsea have already signed attacking right-back Marco Palestra from Atalanta for a big fee, and want to bring in a similar profile of left-back.

Alonso’s side are keen on Rayo Vallecano’s attacking left-back Chavarria, who had an impressive last season at the Spanish club.

Los Franjirrojos rejected a bid worth €15m for the Spaniard from the Premier League club, but Chelsea are not ready to stand down.

According to Spanish daily Marca, the Blues are preparing a new offer to the La Liga club for the 28-year-old left-back.

It has been suggested that Chelsea’s upcoming offer is expected to be €25m including bonuses for Chavarria, whose contract runs for four more years at the Spanish club.

But it has also been revealed that Rayo Vallecano could ask for a guaranteed fee of €25m for the 28-year-old, who wants to play in the Premier League.

Chavarria has 125 senior appearances for Los Franjirrojos and he could be on his way to England in the coming days and weeks to join the Londoners.

Raul Martin Pesa, the president of the Spanish club, is handling all the negotiations, and all eyes will be on him to see whether the parties will be able to agree on a deal soon.