Chelsea set to sign Ecuadorian wonderkid Kendry Paez

Chelsea will sign Ecuadorian talent Kendry Paez from Independiente del Valle in a deal worth around €20 million, according to Fabrizio Romano.

The wonderkid was born in 2007 and is ineligible to move, so Chelsea will have to wait until he is 18 before he can join them in 2026.

Independiente del Valle president Santiago Morales confirmed that the club was close to reaching an agreement to sell Paez days ago. The deal is now over the line.

Paez was born in Guayaquil, the second-largest city in Ecuador. He joined Independiente del Valle’s set-up as a youngster.

He debuted for Ecuador’s under-17s in 2022 and has scored three goals in seven appearances.

The 15-year-old impressed at the Next Generation Trophy last year, with top European clubs noticing him.

He led his club to the final and received the player of the tournament award for his efforts.

The midfielder’s club did not allow him to participate in the South American under-20 Championship.

The club made this decision to facilitate his transition into the first team. He has made three first-team appearances, scoring on his debut.

Chelsea have been stockpiling young talents since the arrival of new owners, Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali, last summer.

The Blues have signed under-21 stars like Malo Gusto, Carney Chukwuemeka, Andrey Santos, David Datro Fofana, Gabriel Slonina and Cesare Casadei.

They plan on building a young squad that will dominate for years. Paez is another piece of their long-term puzzle.

The next step for Chelsea will be finding a manager to turn these youngsters into world-beaters.

Chelsea sacked Graham Potter following their 2-0 loss to Aston Villa yesterday. The abysmal showing left the London club in 11th in the league.

Bruno Saltor will be the interim coach while the Premier League club searches for a new permanent manager.

Recently dismissed Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann will be on their shortlist to replace Potter.

Other available coaches include Luis Enrique, Antonio Conte, Mauricio Pochettino, Brendan Rodgers and Zinedine Zidane.