18 Sept 2026 14:31 BST |
5 min read
Make us your Google favourite
There is growing concern around Chelsea youngster Kendry Paez in his native Ecuador, with the 19-year-old at risk of “losing his way.”
The teenager is currently stuck in the Blues’ U21s, and he will remain there at least until January. Paez returned to West London late in the summer window after a torrid loan at River Plate, but Chelsea failed to find a new destination for him.
For the second time in six months, Paez had his loan spell away from Chelsea terminated because he failed to nail down a regular starting spot. He first disappointed at sister club Strasbourg, and then in Argentina.
His fall from grace has been spectacular. Paez was regarded as one of the biggest talents in South America – if not the biggest – when Chelsea agreed a deal to sign the then-16-year-old in 2023. It has been downhill for him ever since.
In addition to off-field escapades – visiting a strip club as a minor, being accused of “unprofessional behaviour” at Strasbourg – Paez has failed to have much of an impact on the pitch in recent times. Once Ecuador’s golden boy, he barely plays for his country now.
Paez needs a reality check
The 19-year-old logged just 11 minutes of action at the World Cup, and he has not scored or assisted a goal for Ecuador in more than two years. Somewhat understandably, then, Chelsea appear to have lost faith in the youngster.
After not managing to find a new loan club for him, Paez was demoted to the U21s, with manager Xabi Alonso later confirming that the attacking midfielder was not in his plans.
This, according to transfer insider Fabrizio Romano, was a clear sign that Paez could be sold by Chelsea at the next possible opportunity. The Blues seem to have “different plans” for him than their other young talents.
According to pundits Jorge Sanchez Parra and Jose Carlos Crespo from his native Ecuador, these next few months spent languishing in the reserves must serve as a reality check for Paez, who is “losing his way.”
Responding to suggestions that a return home could help Paez unlock his potential, Parra, in quotes relayed by Sport Witness, said: “I feel that if Kendry Paez returns to Ecuador, for whatever reason, he will completely lose his way.
“I think he’s on the path to losing his way, and he still has a couple of opportunities ahead of him. It’s up to him whether he wants to take them or not. But in this scenario, if tomorrow he comes back to Independiente, Liga, Emelec or Barcelona, I think here he completely loses his way.”
Crespo echoed this. He believes that Paez would get preferential treatment back home, which could exacerbate his alleged attitude problems, whereas he is just another player at Chelsea and needs to earn his chances.
“You need them to look at you and treat you – I won’t say as just another player because ultimately you’re a footballer and you can be a Chelsea first-team player or whatever you want – but in London, Kendry Paez isn’t what he would be in Ecuador,” Crespo explained. “This doesn’t guarantee things will go well for him now because they don’t know him, or because they treat him equally.
“What I do believe is that, for someone who has continually been failing in terms of how he’s managed himself and his behaviour, coming to an environment which ends up being friendly, giving him special treatment and opening doors for him, I think that would end up making things more complicated for him.”
Crespo is convinced that Paez can only reach his full potential if he learns his lesson. “It’s true that he’s been away for a year and a half, and he gets hit and hit again. It could be that he never learns his lesson. It could be that he never reaches that moment where he settles down.”
According to Parra, the moment for Paez to finally get his head straight is “now.” His spell with the U21s, even if it only lasts until January, has to be a reality check for the teenager.
Related stories:
Transfer Rumours: Liverpool make Estevao contact to hijack Chelsea contract talks
Fabrizio Romano Transfer News: JJ Gabriel favourites, Arsenal shock move, Endrick’s future
Man Utd have a Branthwaite problem – and Everton will love it
