Chelsea have beaten Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund to the signing of Ecuadorian wonderkid Kendry Paez, his club have confirmed.
Standard Sport reported in April that Chelsea had a verbal agreement in place to sign the 16-year-old midfielder in a deal that could be worth more than £17.5million.
Paez will not be able to join Chelsea until he turns 18 in the summer of 2025. But securing the future of one of the biggest youth talents in South America is a real coup for the Blues.
Independiente del Valle director Santiago Morales said: “Today, I can say that Kendry Paez, in two years’ time, will go to Chelsea.
“We received offers from Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United, Chelsea were the team that showed the most interest.”
Paez came to the attention of Europe’s elite clubs after being named the outstanding player at the 2022 Next Generation Trophy tournament in Austria.
He is already part of the first-team set up at Independiente, the club from whom Brighton signed Moises Caicedo in 2021.
Chelsea hope to have a multi-club network set up by the time Paez joins, which would allow him to play in Europe before his move to Stamford Bridge.
