Kendry Paez is a professional footballer who will be joining Chelsea in 2025 for a transfer fee of £17 million.
The Blues have emphasised building for the future in recent years, with young players such as Malo Gusto, Romeo Lavia and Estevao Willian also signing the dotted line.
Like Estevao, Paez is too young to make the move this summer, so he will have to wait until the 2025/26 season to make his Chelsea debut.
That is not an issue, though, as the wonderkid is developing well in Ecuador, progressing from the under-17 team to the senior international side in the space of a year.
Indeed, he played alongside Moises Caicedo at the 2024 Copa America and became the second-youngest scorer in the competition’s history after his penalty against Jamaica.
The signing of Paez is one that Blues supporters should be really excited about, so the Chelsea Chronicle tells you everything you need to know about him below.
![Lionel Messi #10 of Argentina makes a move on Kendry Paez #10 of Ecuador during the second half at Soldier Field on June 09, 2024 in Chicago, Illin...](https://cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com/uploads/17/2024/07/GettyImages-2156848096-1024x683.jpg)
Profile
Kendry Paez age
Ray Kendry Paez Andrade was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador on May 4, 2007. He joined local team Barcelona de Guayaquil’s academy in 2012 before leaving in 2015.
Kendry Paez height
Paez is five feet, nine inches tall (1.75 metres), slightly below average for a footballer. He is the same height as Mykhailo Mudryk and only Raheem Sterling and Marc Cucurella are shorter in the Blues’ first team.
Kendry Paez position
Paez is similar to Chelsea’s best player, Cole Palmer, in that he can play as either a central attacking midfielder or on the right wing. The 17-year-old is also left-footed and likes to cut inside onto his stronger foot when playing out wide.
Kendry Paez shirt number
Paez currently wears the number 16 shirt for his club, Independiente del Valle, having worn the number 55 in his earlier days with the first team. The Ecuadorian wears the iconic number 10 shirt for his national team.
![Chelsea signing Kendry Paez after he watches his new sides 4-2 penalty shoot-out win during the Carabao Cup Quarter Final match between Chelsea and...](https://cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com/uploads/17/2024/07/GettyImages-1868286055-1024x683.jpg)
Career
Kendry Paez stats
Paez’s stats are extremely impressive for a player of his age. The youngster has provided four goals and three assists in just 13 starts in the Ecuador Serie A this season.
He has also registered five goal contributions in 15 games for the national team, developing into one of their most important players.
Kendry Paez transfer value
Paez has a transfer value of £10m, according to Transfermarkt, which suggests that Chelsea overpaid for him by spending £17m. However, that is simply not the case as the playmaker’s value will rise exponentially when he adapts to the Premier League.
Kendry Paez EA Sports FC 24 rating
Paez was not in FIFA 23 but he is in this year’s game, EA Sports FC 24. The Independiente player is a central attacking midfielder with a current rating of 71 and a potential rating of 87. His best attributes include agility (82), sprint speed (81) and short pass (74).
Paez will surely receive an upgrade to his rating in next season’s game, perhaps seeing him up to around 74.
Kendry Paez Football Manager 2024
Paez is one of the best youngsters in the game, Football Manager 2024. According to FM Scout, he is the same level of wonderkid as Manchester United’s Alejandro Garnacho and Paris Saint-Germain’s Bradley Barcola.
![Kendry Paez of Ecuador celebrates after scoring the team's first goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier match between Bolivia and Ecuador at...](https://cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com/uploads/17/2024/07/GettyImages-1732427339-1024x683.jpg)
Kendry Paez Instagram
You can find Paez on Instagram under the handle @kendrypaez.10. He has over 680,000 followers, including Palmer and Carney Chukwuemeka, and his bio reads: ‘Kendry PA’.
Kendry Paez Twitter
Paez has over 23,000 followers on his Twitter/X account: @PaezKendry10.
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