Independiente del Valle director Santiago Morales has revealed that Manchester United made a late charge to sign Kendry Paez before they accepted Chelsea’s offer.
Fabrizio Romano tweeted in mid-April that Chelsea agreed a €20million package to sign Paez, who will join the Blues in 2025 when he turns 18.
Paez is regarded as one of the top South American talents and Morales told the Evening Standard that they received offers from other teams for the Ecuadorian, but Chelsea were the keenest to prise him away from del Valle.
“Today, I can say that Kendry Paez, in two years’ time, will go to Chelsea.
Kendry Páez scores on his debut with Independiente del Valle’s first team — he’s 15 years old, midfielder born in May 2007 ?? #CFC
? Chelsea have anticipated many clubs as there’s a verbal agreement in place to sign Kendry and bring him to Europe in 3 years. pic.twitter.com/hVV1qFBReb
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) February 25, 2023
“We received offers from Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United, Chelsea were the team that showed the most interest.”
Since Todd Boehly’s arrival at Chelsea, the Blues have scoured the world for the best young talents, with Paez the latest to join the list and he will hope that when he joins in a couple of seasons, he gets given the opportunity to showcase his talents to the world.