Who is Kendry Paez? The Ecuadorian wonderkid coming to Chelsea in 2025

Chelsea continue to be keen on bolstering the playing squad at Stamford Bridge with Todd Boehly looking to add more youth to Graham Potter's squad

Kendry Paez will join Chelsea in 2025, when he turns 18. The Ecuadorian wonderkid is one of the most talented young players in South American and will cost Todd Boehly €20million (£17.3m).

The Blues made their first move in February after the likes of Manchester United and Manchester City were all said to be scouting the teenager. Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid were also interested, but Stamford Bridge will be the new home of Paez.

According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea will sign Paez in 2025, meaning the midfielder will remain with Independiente del Valle for another two years.

But, as many Chelsea supporters will be wondering, who is Kendry Paez?

Born in 2007, Ray Kendry Paez Andrade has made a name for himself in the youth team at Independiente del Valle. The left-footed midfielder has made six senior appearances at club level, scoring one goal.

In 2019, according to El Universo, the midfielder scored 39 goals in 106 games from 2018 and 2022 and has been a regular throughout del Valle's youth teams. But it isn't just at club level where he has impressed, with him already receiving a call-up to the under-17s squad - where he has three goal contributions in three games.

He continued his impressive upwards trajectory during the U20 World Cup in Argentina. The attacking midfielder has featured in all three of Ecuador's group games, scoring and assisting in the 9-0 win over Fiji, becoming the youngest player ever to score in the competition.

Quite simply, yes. As mentioned above, the number of young players signed in the last six months demonstrates the club's desire to prepare for what the future holds. It's been labelled as the 'Vision 2030' model - Paez will only be 23 by then.

"I can assure people that we will not rest on our laurels of having boys [from the academy] involved in Champions League success. It's important to set out what we are doing in the short-term, but also to have a long-term vision and direction of where we want our academy to be in the future. That is always the main focus."

"Under the new ownership, Graham Potter and the broader sporting team, there is a clear and sustainable philosophy underpinned by performance analysis, data and innovation. I am looking forward to playing a part in that."