Kendry Paez: Why Chelsea Star Is Yet to Make EPL Debut Despite Breaking Records With Ecuador

• Kendry Paez has put the world on notice since making his debut aged only 15 years
• Chelsea swooped in for this summer, adding him to the long list of young players on their roster
• The 16-year-old is, however not eligible to play for the Blues until 2025

Kendry Paez has got South American football on chokehold, with the teenager exacting his dominance in the Ecuador national team set up at such a tender age.

Aged only 16 years, Paez became the youngest goalscorer in the history of the South American qualifiers when he showed great composure to find the back of the net against Bolivia in the high-altitude stadium of Hernando Siles on October 13.

He only made his debut for La Tri last month, where he set up Felix Torres for the winning goal against Uruguay. He also became the second-youngest South American to play international football, behind the legendary Diego Maradona.

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Paez turns out for Ecuador side Independiente del Valle, where he primarily plays as a midfielder. He is, however, technically a Chelsea player after the Todd Boehly-owned club paid a sum of 17 million euros for his services before loaning him back to his parent club, as reported by Sky Sports.

He is part of the many youngsters the new Chelsea ownership has brought in since they took over from Roman Abramovich last summer.

Why Paez is yet to make his EPL debut

From the foregoing, he looks like a talented player who could fit into Mauricio Pochettino's plans in West London. He captained his national side to the finals of the U-17 South American Championships after becoming the youngest debutant and scorer in the country's top-flight league.

So, how come he is not playing for Chelsea yet? The Blues faithful will have to wait for two more years until they see Moises Caicedo's international teammate donning their club's colours. He can only make the switch to the Premier League once he turns 18, which means the earliest he will move to London will be the summer of 2025, as explained by BBC Sports.

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He will be hoping to inspire Ecuador to back-to-back World Cups. They are currently in 7th place, the playoff spot, after winning two games, having begun with a negative three points tally. They face Colombia next week.

Pochettino pinpoints Chelsea's problem

Sports Brief reported that Pochettino pinpointed Chelsea's problem after Villa's defeat, indirectly calling out misfiring striker Nicolas Jackson, who has picked up more cards than goals.

Jackson received his fifth booking of the season in the sixth game, having scored just one goal. It's baffling for the manager who rued their lack of cutting edge in the final third as the reason for their downfall.