Chelsea will welcome wonderkid Kendry Paez to the club for a series of settling-in training sessions ahead of his move to Stamford Bridge in 2025. The Blues completed the signing of the 16-year-old from Independiente del Valle in the summer, with the player set to move to England when he turns 18.
Chelsea shelled out just over £17million in exchange for Paez, who has already been capped five times by Ecuador. And the midfielder has been tipped to have a big future at the top of the game due to his outstanding technical ability and creativity on the ball.
According to The Telegraph, Paez will visit England two or three times to start his integration, which is designed to make his transfer as smooth as possible. And the first step of that process will begin next week when he trains with the Blues first-team.
Paez, who has already started learning English ahead of his move to west London, will meet Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino and talk to other staff members during his visit to England. He will also develop an off-field training programme to take back to Ecuador. And his current employers have given the green light for the trip.
Paez has already featured 28 times for the Independiente first-team and bagged an assist on his debut for Ecuador in September as his country defeated Uruguay 2-1 in a World Cup qualifier. The teenage sensation then became the youngest South American player to score in a World Cup qualifier a month later when he found the back of the net during a 2-1 victory over Bolivia.
Paez holds the accolade of being the youngest player to feature and score in Ecuador’s top-flight after notching on his debut as a 15-year-old. The star has been dubbed the ‘jewel’ of Ecuador and captained his country to the South American Under-17 Championship final earlier this year. He is also the youngest player to score at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup.
Chelsea stars Nicolas Jackson and Moises Caicedo share an agent with Paez, with the former Brighton midfielder also breaking through at Independiente. And the teenager is likely to spend time catching up with his compatriot and other Blues players next week. He could also be in attendance for Chelsea’s Carabao Cup quarter-final clash with Newcastle United next Tuesday.
Chelsea will be hoping they can develop Paez into a football superstar when he finally joins the club on a permanent basis. And they will be desperate to get to work with the ace as they battle to overcome a prolonged period of underwhelming form since Todd Boehly bought the club in May 2022.
