Kendry Paez: Profile, playing style, scouting report

The youngster has drawn interest from Chelsea, Manchester United nad Borussia Dortmund

According to rumours, Chelsea have allegedly been in contact with the youngster since February. One of the most highly regarded young prospects in South America is an offensive midfielder, Kendry Paez. Along with Chelsea, Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund were interested in him.

He now competes for Ecuador's Independiente del Valle. Despite his youth, Paez has already made three appearances for the first squad and scored one goal.

He is hardly the first young talent on whom Chelsea have lavished financially.

Andrey Santos, the captain of Brazil's Under-20 team, joined the Blues this summer for £18 million. When a work licence is approved, the 18-year-old centre midfielder from Vasco do Gama is expected to join.

Chelsea are now concentrating on selecting a new manager after Graham Potter was fired. There have been rumours linking Luis Enrique, Mauricio Pochettino, and Julian Nagelsmann.

Background of Paez

Ray Kendry Páez Andrade, an Ecuadorian football player who was born on May 4, 2007, is now a midfielder for Independiente Del Valle.

Páez, a Guayaquil native, caught the eye of several teams in Europe thanks to his accomplishments with the Independiente del Valle junior squad, which included being awarded the most outstanding player in the Salzburg, Austria-based 2022 Next Generation Trophy.

Borussia Dortmund in Bundesliga is said to have had an interest in him, and Manchester United in England had their initial offer for Páez turned down in December 2022.

At the age of fifteen, he was elevated to the Independiente del Valle first team for the 2023 preseason. His much-anticipated professional debut came on February 25, 2023, when he scored the third goal in an Ecuadorian Serie A victory over Mushuc Runa that ended 3-1.

Anthony Landázuri raised a cutback for him on the right side of the penalty area, and he immediately volleyed the ball past Jorge Pinos and into the far corner of the net. He did so to become the newest player to make his top-flight Ecuadorian debut and score a goal.

Making his name at the International level

Paéz has scored goals for Ecuador at the under-17 level against both Colombia and Argentina. For the 2023 South American U-20 Championship, he got left out of Ecuador's under-20 team in order to ease into his adjustment to the Independiente del Valle main squad.

He received another call-up to the Ecuador under-17 team for the March 2023 South American U-17 Championship. He assisted Ecuador's second goal in their 2-2 comeback tie with Brazil in their opening match by passing the ball into the opponent's half for teammate Geremy de Jess to score.

Style of play of Paez

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2-ZLMTwvgU

As a youngster, Paéz saw fellow Ecuadorian Gonzalo Plata and Argentine Lionel Messi and gained inspiration from both of them to develop his own dribbling skills.

He possesses excellent dribbling and distributing tandem, enjoys accelerating the pace of the game, and is capable of propelling his side to the playoffs.

He is a very talented and cerebral player who enjoys having the ball at his feet. His dribbling abilities and ability to play the last ball allow him to make a difference at any time.