Chelsea Agree €20 Million Deal To Sign 16-Year-Old Kendry Paez

Chelsea have agreed to pay Ecuadorian club, Independiente del Valle €20 million to acquire the services of Kendry Paez in advance.

The midfielder, who turned 16 in May, will join the Premier League club in the summer of 2025 when he must have clocked 18-year-old.

When Kendry Paez made his Independiente del Valle debut at the age of 15, he broke the record for the league’s youngest goal scorer. He is a midfielder who can also play as a winger.

He made his Copa Libertadores debut, South America’s equivalent of the UEFA Champions League, in a 2-1 triumph over Brazilian giants Corinthians last month.

Also, Paez has excelled at the international level, helping Ecuador at the Under-20 World Cup this summer with a goal and three assists.

At the Under-17 Copa America, he scored twice and handed out six assists. He was also selected as the top player at the Previous Generation Trophy, an international youth competition with clubs from all around the world.

Kendry Paez’s addition is in line with the new transfer policy of Chelsea’s new owners, Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali who seems to be going after youngsters instead of established players.

Throughout the previous two transfer windows, the new owners of the club have spent more than £600 million on 19 players. Despite the record-breaking investment, they were only able to finish 12th in the Premier League and were unable to take home any title in the 2022-2023 season.