Moises Caicedo has revealed just how good new Chelsea midfielder Kendry Paez really is. The 16-year-old was confirmed as having joined from Ecuadorian side Independiente earlier this year but won't become part of the first team squad until his 18th birthday.
Much like Caicedo, who moved to Brighton from the same club in South America, the aim of the deal is to pick up one of the rising stars on a cheap transfer and develop them towards senior minutes down the line. Caicedo himself was still a teenager when the Seagulls picked him up for less than £5million ($6.4million) in 2019.
He was an unknown prospect for much of the time before Graham Potter then chucked him into the fray following a loan spell with Beerschot in Belgium. Less than six months later and he was already being linked with a big-money move to Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea.
Last summer Caicedo was looked at by multiple sides interested in the 20-year-old but he remained on the south coast before the Gunners went hard for him in January. In the space of 12 months he had gone from being a Belgian Pro League player to on the receiving end of two bids upwards of £60million ($89.8million).
Chelsea are hoping that down the line they will be able to get the best out of Kendry at Stamford Bridge but before that they are still keen on signing Caicedo himself. He is their priority target for the rest of the window, football.london understands, and has a price tag of £100million ($128.3million).
The Blues are hopeful of achieving a deal for less than that with a goal of buying the midfielder for closer to that of Arsenal's January offers. In the long run they may well be hoping to see him on the same side as Kendry, though, and as graduates of Independiente, Caicedo has some high praise for the youngster.
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"Kendry is a star. Watching him play is a pleasure," he told Maria Jose Flores. "It's good to see those talents in Ecuador. We know that we have good youth. I am very happy for him, for everything he is doing, for how he is working. May he continue on the right path and go far. He has the talent."
Caicedo was part of the Ecuador side that impressed at the World Cup in Qatar and is leading a new generation of players from the country attracting extreme interest from some of the biggest clubs in the world. When it comes to the pressure of being linked to teams like Chelsea, though, Caicedo is not fazed.
"It's a very great emotion [being linked with a move]," he continued. "What guy wouldn't want them to be talking about him? I know how to handle it. I don't get carried away by emotions.
"I'm enjoying time with my family for now. There is pressure, but I am calm. I am waiting for whatever God decides. He will know what is best for me."
Chelsea are now tasked with not only signing Caicedo but also ensuring that a pathway is in place to allow Kendry to eventually rise up and join him at SW6.
