Chelsea have reached an agreement with Ecuadorian club Independiente del Valle for the young defender Deinner Ordonez, according to reports.
After the early success with Estevao and Andrey Santos, Chelsea seem to continue to search for more young talents from South America, regardless of whether they have to wait for a few years to finalise the deal.
The latest one, according to Fabrizio Romano, is 16-year-old centre-back Ordonez.
The FA rules state that clubs will not be able to sign foreign players until they are 18, so Ordonez would have to wait until January 2028 before potentially moving to London.
🚨🔵 EXCLUSIVE: Deinner Ordóñez to Chelsea, here we go! Agreement reached today for 16 year old talented defender to join #CFC project.
Independiente del Valle accepted all conditions as Chelsea anticipate 3 top European clubs.
🇪🇨 The Ecuadorian will arrive in January 2028. pic.twitter.com/NazAzPLz09
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 14, 2025
Romano added that Ordonez's current club Independiente del Valle have accepted all conditions for the transfer, and that Chelsea had to beat three clubs to the deal.
One of the clubs could be Liverpool, since a recent report from Mail Sport mentioned that the Merseyside club have been monitoring the young defender.
Independiente del Valle are, of course, the club that produced Chelsea's ace midfielder Moises Caicedo, as well as on-loan winger Kendry Paez.
Ordonez has been part of the Ecuador Under-20 set-up since the start of this year, making his first call-up for the team at the age of 15.
Deinner Ordóñez 🇪🇨🌟🔵 pic.twitter.com/M8R8Txi3x5
— Chelsea Photos (@ChelseaInPhotos) November 14, 2025
He also became Ecuador's youngest player in the South American U-20 Championship back in January after being named on the starting line-up in their win over Bolivia.
His stature has clearly helped him get more chances with the older age groups. He stands at 6ft2 (1.88m), so it would not be a surprise if he dominates in the air against other teenagers.
In the last summer transfer window, Chelsea also signed 20-year-old Mamadou Sarr, before sending him back to RC Strasbourg for a season-long loan.
In addition to 19-year-old Josh Acheampong, who has proved to be an important squad player this season, Chelsea have plenty of young centre-backs at their disposal, and not to mention Jorrel Hato, who can play in central defence, too.