Chelsea youngster Kendry Paez makes history after earning senior Ecuador debut at just 16-years-old

• The 16-year-old made his Ecuador senior national debut on Tuesday night 
• He signed for the west London giants in a deal worth just £17million in June
• Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s podcast It’s All Kicking Off! 

If there is a young player with high potential in world football there is a high chance Chelsea’s network of talent spotters will already be onto him.

That awareness was part of the reason they were able to move so swiftly to sign Ecuadorian record breaking midfielder Kendry Paez from Independiente de Valle in June in a deal thought to be worth around £17m when he was just 16.

Even though he has yet to pull on a Chelsea shirt as he cannot officially join until after his 18th birthday in May 2025 securing his signature early from IDV – the same club that produced his future teammate Moises Caicedo – is already starting to look a shrewd move.

Etching his name into the record books has become a happy habit for Paez, nicknamed Di Maria at IDV due to his physical likeness to Argentina’s World Cup-winning winger, also a fellow left footer.

And a number of his achievements so far suggest that his billing as potentially the best player Ecuador have ever produced is not hyperbole.

Kendry Paez (L) made his debut for the Ecuadorian national team on Tuesday night

The midfielder partnered Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo (L) in his first outing for the national side

After becoming the youngest debutant and scorer in Ecuador’s top-flight history aged 15 in February Paez became the youngest scorer in the history of the Under-20 World Cup in May.

And last night there was more. He made his senior Ecuador debut against Uruguay becoming not just their youngest ever international but also the youngest ever South American to start a World Cup qualifier, beating a record previously held by a certain Maradona.

Playing alongside future Chelsea teammate Caicedo, he marked the occasion with an unfazed display and assist.

‘All of the people in Ecuador are really happy for him,’ Andoni Bombin, head of academy at IDV, told Mail Sport.

‘They understand if he has success, Ecuador is going to have success.

‘I think that Chelsea understand that this [signing him] is an investment, a good project.

‘If I was a club I’m going to do the same. Right now in the market there is a big fight between all the clubs. You need to select the talent as soon as possible.

‘If you don’t do that another one is going to do it. Now is the moment to try to identify the talent and try to get the talent with you and even if you need to wait for two years.

‘It needs investment and you need to bet on this [talent] so I think the decision is the proper decision.’

Paez joined Chelsea in a deal worth £17million during the summer transfer window

Paez joined IDV aged 11 and shot to wider prominence after starring in the 2022 Copa Mitad del Mundo tournament hosted by his club last July, inspiring their under-18s to victory with two goals in the final.

‘That was the moment where many European clubs saw him and identified the talent,’ Bombin said.

The following month Paez was named player of the Next Generation Trophy tournament at RB Salzburg which featured teams from across Europe, his performances sparking the influx of offers from clubs across the continent.

Paez was known to members of Chelsea’s recruitment team Paul Winstanley, Laurence Stewart, Joe Shields, Kyle Macaulay and Christopher Vivell, who was also then at the club, by that point.

And with a number of them having their own connections to IDV the speed Chelsea were able to move at helped them beat the competition, which included most of England’s biggest clubs, and strike a deal for Paez.

Able to play wide and now also through the middle, the versatile Paez caught Chelsea’s eye with his rare combination of impressive technical but also athletic qualities.

His promotion to IDV’s first team came at the start of this year after he convinced manager Martin Anselmi that he had the maturity for the step up by displaying his work ethic off the ball as well as qualities on it.

The 16-year-old was hailed by his coaches after starring in their match against Uruguay

Bombin, who joined IDV from Athletic Bilbao in February, said: ‘When I joined I heard about him and everyone at the club, all of them say the same – ‘he’s a talent.’

‘When you see him playing, everything around him is easier. He understands really well what needs to be done to orientate the ball, the game and he always is present in the key moments of the game because he likes to have the responsibility. I think it’s really important for a youth player.’

Just as crucial is Paez’s mentality. Bombin recalls seeing how a 15 year-old Paez was accepted in IDV’s first-team dressing room and absorbed all the advice received as ‘they taught him what he needed to be a really good player.’

Paez’s off the ball work is one example of that, Bombin believes.

‘He will repeat his effort, go and pressure, come back. He organises himself to help prepare the team for the defending phase,’ he explained.

So too is how unaffected he has been by his Chelsea move.

‘He is not thinking ‘oh now I am a star’ or ‘I am a top player now.’

‘His behaviour is totally normal and natural before and after Chelsea appears in his life. He is still going to the school, working online with his classes, preparing himself, and his relation with others is like it was before. He understands that he is growing and you need to do the correct steps to perform in the top level now because we are talking about Europe, about a top club.’

The youngster will officially join Chelsea when he turns 18-years-old in May 2025

More proof of how level-headed Paez remains and how much he is already being looked up to in his homeland came in the days following his move to Chelsea signing.

Bombin said: ‘I was watching a Serie B match and he was there watching his teammates, because our second team was playing.

‘You could see all the kids in the stadium going close to him and [screaming] ‘hey, it’s Kendry Paez, it’s Kendry Paez.’

‘It was amazing. The kids, Ecuadorian children, are really excited by this kind of situation because I think they see him as an example. They are dreaming of that kind of situation also for themselves. The people are proud about this moment.’

For the next couple of years, they will be able to admire Paez up close and Bombin added: ‘He’s going to be playing at the top level in the Copa Libertadores and fighting for the league, so we are a top club.

‘We have a really good team and this contest is going to help Kendry a lot. In this two years he has time to prepare himself, his mind, learn English and everything to get to Chelsea and to perform as soon as possible.’

And, so far, everything points to Paez being worth the wait for Chelsea.

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