The Independiente del Valle midfielder is regarded as one of South America’s best young talent
According to reports, Chelsea are close to signing Ecuadorian wonderkid Kendry Paez, and the deal will be completed soon.
Paez, 15, was previously linked to Manchester United, Manchester City, and Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen, with Real Madrid also interested.
The Independiente del Valle midfielder is regarded as one of South America’s best young talents and will be eligible to join the Blues when he turns 18.
Paez has yet to make his Ecuadorian debut, but he was promoted to the first team ahead of the 2022-23 season.
He has already made an impression for Ecuador U17s, scoring three goals in five appearances.
According to new reports, Chelsea are nearing a verbal agreement with Independiente del Valle to bring Paez to Stamford Bridge.
The Sun reported earlier this month that Chelsea had a £14.8m bid for Paez rejected, implying that if the deal goes through, he will likely cost more than £15m.
He would be the third teenager to be signed by the west London club, following Andrey Santos and Malo Gusto in January.
Since Todd Boehly took over as owner in the summer, the Blues have spent over £600 million on new players.
Reece James believes Chelsea can become ‘one of the best teams in the world’ once their new stars have settled in, despite the Blues currently languishing in 10th place in the Premier League following early domestic cup exits.
‘I don’t think there’s a trophy we can’t win,’ Chelsea right-back James told Sky Sports recently.
‘I’m not sure when that will happen, but with the team we’re building and what the club is becoming…
‘With all of the young players, I believe we’ll be one of the best teams in the world once we’ve played together for a longer period of time.’