Overview
- Werder officially announced the signing of Iván 'Chuki' San José Cantalejo on Tuesday, confirming a long-term contract reported to run until summer 2030.
- Chuki is a 22-year-old Real Valladolid academy graduate who broke through in LaLiga2 last season with 34 league appearances, seven goals and eight assists.
- The transfer was reported as ablösefrei with only a modest training compensation of about €380,000, a detail that has drawn criticism from Valladolid supporters and commentators.
- Werder completed medical checks and delayed the public announcement at the player's request until Valladolid’s season ended; Chuki missed Valladolid’s final matches for fitness and selection reasons.
- Club sporting director Peter Niemeyer and coach Daniel Thioune called Chuki a promising offensive midfielder who can play centrally or wide, and Werder frames the move as a development investment that could boost the squad and the player's future value.