Why Chelsea spending €20m on 15-year-old wonderkid Kendry Paez makes sense

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 18 Apr 2023 07:53 BST
• 4 min read

Chelsea are set to complete their first signing of the 2023 summer transfer window following reports that the FA and the Premier League will approve the transfer of young Ecuadorian star Kendry Paez to Stamford Bridge.

Paez was born in 2007 and he is just 15 years old, but Chelsea have been convinced by his talent and are ready to fork out a large sum of money to bring him to Stamford Bridge.

Fabrizio Romano has reported that the governing bodies in English football are set to approve the move, enabling the Blues to add yet another talented youngster to their ranks.

READ: Chelsea make Joao Felix transfer decision as Man Utd plot summer bid

According to Romano, the transfer has been agreed since March and will cost Chelsea a total of roughly €20 million.

Crucially, Paez will not be able to actually join Chelsea until he turns 18 in 2025, which means he will remain at his boyhood club Independiente del Valle for the next two years before he can move to West London.

Paez can operate as an attacking midfielder or as a winger, and despite being just 15, he has already scored his first senior goal for Independiente.

READ: Boehly 'heavily criticised' big money signing after Chelsea defeat

During the ongoing U-17 South American Championship, Paez has provided six assists in his six appearances, which shows just a hint of his incredible talent.

Independiente have become the leading club for developing youth talent in Ecuador and have produced the likes of Moises Caicedo (Brighton & Hove Albion), Piero Hincapie (Bayer Leverkusen), William Pacho (Royal Antwerp) and Angelo Preciado (KRC Genk) in recent years.

Caicedo is the perfect example of why Chelsea have decided to act now on Paez. The midfielder was scouted by Manchester United before he joined Brighton, but the Red Devils opted against a move in favour of targeting a more established name.

That decision has backfired massively as Caicedo has excelled on English shores for Brighton and has now been linked with a move away for over €80 million.

By cutting out the middle man, in this case Brighton, Chelsea could save themselves millions if Paez turns out to be a superstar.

The 15-year-old is set to become the latest talent off the Independiente production line to earn an eye-catching transfer to Europe, but Chelsea fans will have to wait a few years before they're able to catch a glimpse of the teenager in action for their club.

Chelsea's focus on youth

While Todd Boehly has seemingly splashed the cash without much thought since joining Chelsea, there has been a clear shift in transfer mentality towards a younger model.

The Blues have prioritised signing players capable of delivering in the future, hence the acquisitions of Gabriel Slonina (18), Andrey Santos (18), Carney Chukwuemeka (19), Malo Gusto (19), David Datro Fofana (20), Noni Madueke (21), Mykhailo Mudryk (22), Benoit Badiashile (22) and Enzo Fernandez (22) in the past year.

Paez fits in with that model perfectly and hints that Chelsea will continue to exploit the South American market after their purchase of the aforementioned Santos in January.