Kendry Paez
Nation: Ecuador
Age: 17
Position: Attacking midfielder
Caps: 9 (1 goal)
Club: Independiente del Valle (Chelsea from 2025)
Chelsea’s extravagant spending over the past two years has captured plenty of attention, but the hundreds of millions they have spent in Europe means their recruitment in South America has gone a little under the radar.
At 17, Kendry Paez has technically been a Chelsea player since June 2023, when the Blues committed more than £17m to sign him from Independiente del Valle. But the teenager must continue to be patient – he can only move to London when he turns 18 next summer.
It’s an enticing prospect for Chelsea fans. Paez has already recorded nearly 50 appearances for Independiente after emerging from the Ecuadorian club’s academy, just a few years behind future team-mate Moises Caicedo.
This isn’t a case of a desperate club forced to take a chance on an academy talent. Independiente are unbeaten in 15 LigaPro games, sitting top of the table and competing in the Copa Libertadores. Paez has five goals and five assists across 19 appearances, making him a firm fixture of the best side in Ecuador.
It’s not hard to see how Chelsea’s attention was caught. From a position behind the striker or wide on the right, Paez uses his devilish left foot to bewilder defenders and goalkeepers alike. He has a penchant for long-range goals and the occasional piece of showboating.
Understandably for someone so young, questions have been asked about Paez’s maturity – not least when he joined some Ecuador team-mates in a New York club the night before an international game earlier this year.
But the fact Paez is even in the senior international side is a demonstration of his ability. Of his nine caps, seven came from the start.
Paez will expect to be a fixture of Ecuador’s XI at Copa America. Will the same be true at Chelsea?
