Chelsea have ‘made contact’ over signing Ecuadorian wonderkid Kendry Paez, according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano.
Paez, 15, is thought to be one of the most talented young players in South America and is said to be worth more than £15m (€18.2m). The midfielder has been on the radar of Manchester United and Manchester City, with Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid also linked.
However, it's said that the Blues have officially made contact with Independiente del Valle over his signature with a 'decision to be made soon' on the teenager's future. Journalist Eduardo Erazo has claimed that a bid worth £14.8m has already been rejected, hinting at the sort of price Chelsea owner Todd Boehly will have to spend.
The influx of young talent at Stamford Bridge is clearly a strategy under Todd Boehly. Seven teenagers have been signed since the U.S billionaire completed his takeover at SW6; Omari Hutchinson from Arsenal; Zac Sturge from Brighton; Gabriel Slonina from Chicago Fire, Cesare Casadei from Inter; Carney Chukwuemeka from Aston Villa, Malo Gusto from Lyon and Andrey Santos from Vasco da Grama.
But, as many Chelsea supporters will be wondering, who is Kendry Paez?
Who is Kendry Paez?
Born in 2007, Ray Kendry Paez Andrade has made a name for himself in the youth team at Independiente del Valle. The left-footed midfielder has made close to 20 appearances across the youth teams in Ecuador and has already been linked with a move to Europe.
There have been claims that the teenager will 'smash' the Ecuador transfer record currently held by the deal that saw Moises Caicedo to Brighton in 2021. Last year, Paez was the Player of the Tournament in the Next Generation Trophy and has since been the subject of a big move to Europe.
In 2019, according to El Universo, the midfielder scored 39 goals in 106 games from 2018 and 2022 and has been a regular throughout del Valle's youth teams. But it isn't just at club level where he has impressed, with him already receiving a call-up to the under-17s squad - where he has three goal contributions in three games.
The Ecuadorian Serie A 2023 season kicks off later this month and Paez is expected to be part of the Independiente squad after being promoted during pre-season.
Many Chelsea fans would have watched the South American U20 Championship in the last month as January signing Santos led Brazil to glory. The tournament has a reputation of having scouts in attendance to snap up the continent's best young talents but Paez was not involved in the tournament to allow his transition to the first team run smoothly.
0 Comments