Chelsea have reached a verbal agreement to sign Independiente del Valle midfielder, Kendry Paez.
Paez is thought to be one of the best young talents in South America and will be able to join Chelsea when he turns 18.
A few days ago, The Sun reported that Chelsea had a £14.8million bid rejected for Paez, meaning that the player will likely cost more than £15million if the deal gets done.
However, new reports indicate that a move could soon be completed– with a verbal agreement now in place – which would see Paez head to the Blues in three years’ time.
According to Fabrizio Romano, “Chelsea are closing in on a verbal agreement with Independiente del Valle to sign Ecuadorian gem Kendry Paez. Deal close to being completed.”
The 15-year-old was being tracked by Manchester City, Manchester United and Bayer Leverkusen, while Real Madrid were also previously linked.
He scored on his first-team debut for the club on Saturday, having been integrated into the senior squad ahead of the 2022-2023 season.
Paez, who has already impressed at the international level for Ecuador U17s, scoring three goals across five caps, would be the latest teenager to be snapped up by Chelsea, following Andrey Santos and Malo Gusto who were recruited in January.