Chelsea-bound Kendry Paez continues to impress ahead of his impending move to Stamford Bridge, although the club still have a year to wait until that happens.
The teenager agreed a €20 million (£17.5m) move to Chelsea back in June, but he won’t be able to make the move official until after his 18th birthday in May 2025. He has been training with Chelsea on occasion but has also continued to feature for his boyhood club Independiente.
His latest appearance came in the Ecuadorian top-division clash against Deportivo Cuenca on Sunday. Paez scored what turned out to be the winning goal in spectacular fashion.
Running onto a loose ball around 25 yards out, Paez rockets a left-footed shot past the goalkeeper and into the corner of the goal. It was his fourth goal in all competitions for the club, while he has also provided three assists.
If he can repeat that sort of goal in a Chelsea shirt then it will be good news for Mauricio Pochettino, who will have high hopes for the teenager. When he arrives at Chelsea, Paez will be reunited with Ecuador international teammate Moises Caicedo.
Speaking last month, Caicedo outlined how Chelsea have high hopes for the youngster. “They talk a lot about him, more like all the Staff, who are always watching him in the videos, who want to have him here now,” he said.
“The time he came they wanted him to stay because everyone knows that he is great and if he does his part and dedicates himself every day, in training and outside, he will be a total great.”
The latest goal came just one day after Paez’s 17th birthday. The attacking midfielder is also a full international, making his debut in September 2023, and scoring in just his second appearance for his nation one month later.
