Chelsea may witness the debut of their young talent, Kendry Paez, this winter as it has been confirmed that he has been granted a visa to travel to England.

The Blues have reached an agreement on a deal valued at approximately £17m to secure the services of 16-year-old Paez from Independiente del Valle. However, due to FIFA regulations, he cannot officially join his new team until he reaches the age of 18 in May 2025. Meanwhile, Paez continues to impress both with Independiente and the Ecuador senior national team, boasting five starts and a goal to his name. Paez is anticipated to complete the Ecuadorian season, concluding later this month, before heading to Chelsea to train with Mauricio Pochettino’s first team.

“We have received confirmation of Kendry Paez’s visa, and now we are awaiting Chelsea FC’s arrangements for his travel,” stated Independiente director Roberto Arroyo to Mach Deportes.

Fans have been consistently tuning in to watch highlights of Paez in Ecuador. The teenager has already made history as the youngest player and goal-scorer in his country’s top flight. He was mere days away from breaking Diego Maradona’s record for the youngest player to feature for a senior national team in South American history.

He continues to showcase his impressive skills, and soon enough, fans can anticipate seeing him in Chelsea’s training videos. Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed that Paez is scheduled to visit the club this winter.

“The club is taking care of him at the moment,” said Pochettino. “He will soon travel here to England to spend time with us, to get to know us better so that he understands what Chelsea is all about.

“This is an unusual situation that needs a lot of attention because he is a young boy, and, with everything he is going through, there is a lot of temptation and a lot of risk that everything that is positive for him today can quickly turn negative. That’s why the attention from everyone at Chelsea is on top of his situation and his family, with every single detail, so he can arrive at Chelsea in the future and perform in the way we think he can due to his talent.”