Chelsea have reached an agreement with Independiente del Valle for 16-year-old defender Deinner Ordonez — set to arrive at Stamford Bridge in 2028.
Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.
That must be the message given to Chelsea’s recruitment staff, who have unearthed a generational talent at the same Ecuadorian club that produced Moises Caicedo and Kendry Paez.
Deinner Ordonez has agreed to the project, and will join up with the Blues in just over two years’ time when he’s eligible for a UK move.
🚨🔵 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
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It’s an unorthodox move, but one designed to stave off competition for one of the most promising young South American talents, who one scout has labelled as the next world-beater.
Chelsea’s Deinner Ordonez highly touted by Como scout
While he won’t be wearing a blue shirt any time soon, Ordonez is officially on the books at Chelsea.
The news emerged on Friday evening, just days after a Serie A scout made an outlandish claim about the youngster.
Appearing on Monday Night Club, Felix Johnston — a scout for Cesc Fabregas at Como — was asked who the next world-level talent coming through.
He said: “The player that always comes to my head for who I think will be brilliant is a guy called Deinner Ordonez, who’s a centre-back at Independiente Del Valle in Ecuador, which is the academy that Moises Caicedo came through.
“Pierro Hincapie, I believe, came through there as well. I think Willian Pacho, who is at PSG. Kendry Paez is at Chelsea now. Maybe Joel Ordonez, who’s at Club Brugge. So, they’ve had a lot of talents, and he’s very, very talented.”
By the sounds of it, Chelsea have found a gem. While he won’t be at Stamford Bridge any time soon, it’s an exciting one for the future.
Chelsea make up for Rio Ngumoha fumble with Deinner Ordonez
Rio Ngumoha of Liverpool celebrates scoring
Photo by George Wood/Getty Images
Possibly because they have some of the best recruitment systems in Europe, Liverpool and Chelsea are constantly at odds in the market.
We all remember when Caicedo chose Chelsea over Liverpool back in 2023. That was as intense a transfer battle as we have seen, with £100 million offers flying for the Ecuadorian.
The Reds got one back on them last summer when Chelsea lost Rio Ngumoha to Liverpool.
But Liverpool also wanted Ordonez, impressed by his display at the U20 Copa Sudamericana back in February.
They lose out yet again, and the question of who was the better acquisition of the two teenagers is sure to come up again — towards the end of the decade.