Photo by Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
Photo by Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
On the whole, Chelsea’s window was a success. They made a profit, they brought in experience, and aside from the Lamine Camara situation, Chelsea did what was required and more.
BlueCo changed tack. With Behdad Eghbali running operations alongside Alonso and the quintet of sporting directors at Chelsea, experience was identified as a priority, and that has been brought in.
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Danny Welbeck, Jordan Henderson, Emi Martinez, Pep Chavarria and Maxence Lacroix all represent signings older than 27. On average, those five signings are roughly 32, just what Chelsea needed.
But given the sheer number of deals Chelsea had to do in the summer, both signings and departures, there were always going to be a couple of mistakes along the way, and some would be left in limbo.
Kendry Paez decision has left Chelsea outcast stuck in limbo
Paez has endured a difficult time since his eventual move to Chelsea. The teenager was signed from Ecuador’s notorious academy machine, Independiente Del Valle, in 2023 when he was 16, for £17m.
He did not move to Europe until he was 18, linking up with Chelsea in 2025 before being sent to Strasbourg on loan. He was used intermittently by Liam Rosenior and then joined River Plate on loan.
The January move was scheduled to last 18 months, but it hasn’t gone to plan. Just one goal in 14 appearances saw him recalled at the end of August, and a new loan was planned for the playmaker.
There was interest from the Championship and even Scottish champions Celtic. But Paez has stayed put, and with all of the international loan spots used up, Paez will be forced to remain until at least January.
“Paez remains at Chelsea after his loan at River Plate was cancelled. Attempts were made to find him a Premier League or top-end Championship loan but nothing suitable was found,” Nizaar Kinsella reports.
That means Paez has no escape route and will be left in limbo with the U21s, unless he can produce a shock and work his way into Xabi Alonso’s plans. Paez needed to go on loan, but he’s stayed put.
Paez’s development is already in question at Chelsea
There have been some bad signings and some errors of judgement during BlueCo’s four years at Chelsea. The mere treating players like commodities, and utter focus on youth, are overriding failures at Chelsea.
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There have been some abysmal signings too; Omari Kellyman and Deivid Washington both left Chelsea for Strasbourg this summer. Paez has to be listed alongside those two players now; he’s really struggled.
He wasn’t cheap at £17m, either. His development is now being affected, and staying at Chelsea is only going to lengthen the time it takes for Paez to reach what Chelsea paid for: his enormous potential.
Worse still, six months on the sidelines at Chelsea will see him deteriorate. At least at River Plate, he was playing senior football. It is unclear if Paez will even be training with Alonso’s first team until January.