Chelsea are on the verge of completing their eleventh signing of the summer, with Rayo Vallecano left-back Pep Chavarria set to undergo his medical in west London.
Fabrizio Romano confirmed the deal on Thursday night, stating that Chelsea agreed a fixed fee of €19m (£16.3m) plus €2m (£1.7m) in add-ons for the 28-year-old Spaniard.
Romano wrote on X: “Chelsea agree deal to sign Pep Chavarria from Rayo Vallecano, here we go! Deal done for Spanish left back, €19m fixed fee plus €2m add-ons.”
The signing has been in the works for over a month, with negotiations complicated by shifting valuations between the two clubs throughout the process.
BBC Sport reporter Nizaar Kinsella explained the difficulty of the deal, writing: “On Pep Chavarria transfer, Chelsea feel the price has moved around a lot. CFC were quoted 42 million pounds at one point and they felt like they could get him for 15 at one point.”
Kinsella added: “That’s a huge gap. They would have liked to have done it sooner, but still to have wrapped up a load of signings two weeks before the season starts is pretty good going.”
Chavarria arrives as a direct replacement for Marc Cucurella, who departed Stamford Bridge for Real Madrid earlier this summer, leaving new head coach Xabi Alonso short of options at left-back.
Alonso has been busy reshaping his squad this window, having already brought in Marco Palestra, Morgan Rogers, Danny Welbeck, Maxence Lacroix, Jordan Henderson, Valentin Barco, Geovany Quenda, Emmanuel Emegha, Denner, and Dastan Satpayev.
While arrivals continue, Chelsea are simultaneously attempting to move on players, with the club reportedly open to selling 11 members of their current squad before the September 1 deadline.
The total fee recouped from those sales could potentially reach an enormous £500m if Chelsea are successful in shifting all the players identified as available for transfer.
With 41 contracted senior players still on the books, Alonso faces a major task in trimming his squad down to a more manageable group of 25 before the window closes.
Trevoh Chalobah is already heading to Como in a deal worth an initial £25.7m plus a further £5.1m in potential add-ons, while Filip Jorgensen is set to join sister club Strasbourg on loan.
BBC Sport reports that five players are currently not training with the first team, including Benoit Badiashile, Axel Disasi, Marc Guiu, David Datro Fofana, and Caleb Wiley, all of whom are available on either permanent or loan deals.
Liam Delap, Nicolas Jackson, and Marc Guiu have also reportedly been told they are free to leave, with Everton said to currently lead the race for the 23-year-old Delap.
Paris Saint-Germain have meanwhile registered interest in right-back Malo Gusto, believing the 23-year-old could provide competition for Achraf Hakimi, though Chelsea could demand as much as £75m for his services.
Chelsea would also consider selling Enzo Fernandez if a bid of £100m is received, despite valuing the Argentine midfielder at £120m, with the club not regarding him as untouchable alongside the likes of Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro.
Former Chelsea defender Frank Leboeuf has urged Alonso to address the goalkeeper position, expressing reservations about Robert Sanchez, saying: “Sanchez can be very good on the line, but with his feet, he’s always creating issues and scares the fans when he has the ball at his feet.”
Brighton chief Paul Barber addressed the departure of Danny Welbeck to Chelsea, saying: “We understand the emotion around it. We also have to look at it pragmatically with a business eye and also think about Fabian’s squad opportunities in the season ahead.”
It has been a relentless summer at Stamford Bridge, and with 25 days left in the window, activity in both directions shows absolutely no sign of slowing down.
