Chelsea have completed the signing of Pep Chavarria from Rayo Vallecano for €19m with the full-back becoming the club’s 11th summer addition.
It’s been another busy summer at Stamford Bridge as Xabi Alonso prepares for a first season as a Premier League manager.
The former Bayer Leverkusen boss has shown tactical flexibility throughout pre-season, suggesting an unwillingness to rigidly persist with the back three that served him so well in Germany.
Marco Palestra, Maxence Lacroix, Denner and now Chavarria have bolstered Chelsea's defensive ranks, while Trevoh Chalobah and Marc Cucurella have departed.
The Blues have needed to replace Cucurella following his exit to Real Madrid, and Chavarria looks the man to do so.
With so many options to choose from at the back and no European football to rotate his players, Alonso is unlikely to have a fixed best XI, though Chavarria can expect plenty of minutes as either a left-back or left wing- back.
At Leverkusen, Alonso’s wing-backs were a vital part of his system. In his title-winning season, Alonso deployed Alex Grimaldo and Jeremie Frimpong down his left and right wins, with Grimaldo’s 13 assists the most in the team. The Spaniard was also the team’s third highest league scorer with 10. On the other side, Frimpong scored nine goals and laid on seven assists.
While Alonso may be more flexible at Stamford Bridge than he was at the BayArena, Cucurella needed replacing regardless of what system is deployed.
The addition of Morgan Rogers, whose best work is done in the left half-space, increases the importance of a width-holding left-back. While Cucurella was happy to drift into slightly more central locations, Chavarria is very much the old-school, chalk-on-the-boots type of full-back.
While Cucurella wasn’t always the sharpest defensively, his pace and relentless running made him an important asset to Chelsea and Blues fans can breathe a sigh of relief on that front; Chavarria is no slouch, possessing excellent acceleration and top speed. Indeed, Chavarria was initially signed from the Segunda Division by Andoni Iraola, whose desire for physical intensity from his full-backs has been evident during his time in the Premier League.
Rayo Vallecano used a back four last season, but Chavarria’s attacking output suggests he could be used in a more advanced role.
Chavarria is an adventurous passer, certainly compared to the more conservative Cucurella.
Chavarria had more progressive passes (7.88 v 5.41), progression rate (19.9% v 13.1%), passes into box (1.16 v 0.57) and crosses (2.91 v 1.24) than Cucurella, but had fewer key passes (0.78 v 0.91).
He’s also a much more progressive carrier of the ball than Cucurella, scoring better for progressive carries (4.34 v 1.9), take-ons attempted (1.62 v 0.18) and mean carry distance (10.7m v 8.23m).
Defensively there may be question marks over Chavarria, though he did record 4.44 recoveries per 90 last season to Cucurella’s 3.41. Playing in a back-five, however, should see Chavarria offered more defensive support from three centre-backs.
Attacking stats vs Marc Cucurella
| Marc Cucurella | Pep Chavarria |
Progressive passes | 5.41 (29th) | 7.88 (78th) |
Progression rate | 13.1% (25th) | 19.9% (67th) |
Passes into box | 0.57 (54th) | 1.16 (90th) |
Crosses | 1.24 (48th) | 2.91 (87th) |
Key passes | 0.91 (86th) | 0.78 (77th) |
Through balls | 0.06 (58th) | 0.22 (94th) |
Progressive carries | 1.9 (39th) | 4.34 (92nd) |
Carries into box | 0.18 (68th) | 0.16 (66th) |
Take-ons attempted | 0.18 (68th) | 1.62 (75th) |
Mean carry distance | 8.23m (30th) | 10.7m (92nd) |
All stats per 90. Stats apply to Premier League and La Liga in 2025/26 season. Percentiles apply to top five European leagues. Stats from Opta/WhoScored
As always, there are countless variables that dictate whether or not a transfer will work: how will the player adapt to a new country? A new manager? A new style of play? A new role?
At Chelsea, those factors are perhaps harder to predict than anywhere else, but based on his performances with Rayo Vallecano, Chavarria has all the tools to be a success under Alonso.
