Chelsea summer signing Pep Chavarria has explained what manager Xabi Alonso expects from him, with the defender believing he “can do more”.

Chavarria was one of Chelsea’s signings over the summer that signified the shift in the club’s transfer policy.

At 28, he did not fit the usual profile of young players Chelsea had targeted in recent transfer windows.

However, Chelsea had already landed plenty of young prospects. They needed more experienced players to balance the squad, so they spent £16.3 million plus add-ons on the former Rayo Vallecano defender, and later added Danny Welbeck, Jordan Henderson, and Emiliano Martinez.

Chavarria is not the clear first-choice left wing-back yet, as he has been sharing minutes with the younger Jorrel Hato.

He has made seven appearances for Chelsea but has only started one Premier League match so far. Hato has featured five times, four as a starter.

Chavarria is clearly aware of the challenge. Speaking to Chelsea’s in-house media, he described the Premier League as the “best league in the world”.

“It has intensity, a lot of quality, and the players are top. In La Liga, it's more structured, more tactical. And here, players have more quality and are more physical.

"It’s more difficult here because all teams have very good players. The last team in the table can win against the first."

Chavarria, who had never played outside Spain before the Chelsea switch, understandably needs to adjust to a new league and new styles.

He is keen to learn and improve, though, and believes Alonso is the ideal figure to work with as he continues to adjust to life in England.

“Xabi is one of the best coaches in the world right now,” Chavarria explained.

“I am learning a lot, and I know that he wants to help me. Now I am learning, and my adaptation is very good. I think that I can do more and I can improve.

“He wants me to attack and defend with a lot of energy. And we have a lot of solutions. I think that we have a team that is very complete.”

A lot of energy is exactly what Chavarria offers to the team. He leads Chelsea in sprints per 90 (19) this season, and fans can expect more tireless runs from him when he is on the pitch.

It is also worth mentioning that the BBC previously reported that it was Alonso who pushed for Chavarria’s signing in the first place. Alonso was said to be impressed with Chavarria during his brief managerial stint at Real Madrid.

Chavarria is among the Chelsea players who resumed training at Cobham last week during the international break. Hato, meanwhile, was on international duty with the Netherlands, though he played only 32 minutes in the final match against Serbia earlier this week.

Therefore, Chavarria likely has a strong chance of getting his second Premier League start against Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon. That said, there is also the possibility that Marco Palestra, who naturally plays on the right, could also be in contention to play at left wing-back.