Chelsea are starting to take shape as one of the most promising teams in the Premier League. New-found fluency and Cole Palmer don’t mean the Blues are ready to dethrone Manchester City, leapfrog Arsenal and Liverpool, but the first blocks have been placed.
Perhaps that’s something of a disservice to the sizzling frontline that Enzo Maresca is sculpting. Palmer is the creme-de-la-creme, for sure, but in Noni Madueke, Nicolas Jackson, Joao Felix and Pedro Neto, there’s an incredible depth to the quality.
Ahem, that’s without even digging deeper. Just take a look at the up-and-coming potential.
Chelsea's biggest talents
Where to begin? Chelsea bolstered their expansive Cobham ranks this summer, purchasing midfield prospect Omari Kellyman from Aston Villa for £19m and welcoming Barcelona teenager Marc Guiu in a £5m deal, who has been described as a striker with “goals in his veins” by talent scout Jacek Kulig.
Jimmy-Jay Morgan has three goals already for the U21s in 2024/25, while electric winger Tyrique George has impressed with his movement and playmaking, notching two assists.
That’s without even discussing Estêvão Willian, a Brazilian sensation, aged 17, whose already been signed for £29m and will join the crew at Stamford Bridge on July 1, 2025.
Estêvão has skills that are reminiscent of one Neymar Jr., and he will be hoping to light up the Premier League.
The forward might be the most hotly-anticipated incoming at Chelsea, but he may be eclipsed by Kendry Paez, a fellow South American who is also moving to west London next summer to join Todd Boehly’s youthful revolution.
Chelsea's own Bukayo Saka
Paez is also in the fledgling phase of a career tantalising great things, having signed for the Premier League giants in a deal worth more than £17m in June 2023, when he was merely 16 years old.
Like Estêvão, the Ecuadorian prodigy will link up with Maresca’s squad next summer, after his 18th birthday. A nifty little attacking midfielder with positional pliability that will be streamlined as he continues to grow into his skin over the coming years, Paez has already drawn comparisons with Lionel Messi for his silky style of play.
The 17-year-old, technically superlative, has already chalked up 15 appearances for Ecuador, plying his craft alongside Moises Caicedo, scoring two goals and assisting three more.
There’s an age-belying presence to him that suggests he will flourish in England’s top flight. Starting each of his country’s four Copa America fixtures this summer, Paez showcased his magic side, completing 63% of his attempted dribbles, as per Sofascore, and unleashing 2.8 shots per game – scoring one goal – but his performances underlined a combativeness that sets him apart from most talented youngsters – that and his prodigious skills, too.
Indeed, the tricky prospect averaged three tackles and six ball recoveries per outing, also winning 5.1 duels per game. This far-ranging style of play is something that could see Paez bloom into one of the game’s finest, perhaps even emulating Arsenal superstar Bukayo Saka.
Estêvão has already claimed that the duo could play together, for Paez is starting to feature centrally with the greatest regularity despite playing plenty of football at this early stage out on the right flank.
Even if he doesn’t earn the tag of a winger, Paez’s style bears a similarity to that of Saka, whose improvements year-on-year for the Gunners have not seen him shirk away from the nuts and bolts of his game.
2024/25
7 (7)
2
7
1.28
2023/24
35 (35)
16
9
0.71
2022/23
38 (37)
14
11
0.66
2021/22
38 (36)
11
7
0.47
2020/21
32 (30)
5
3
0.25
2019/20
26 (19)
1
5
0.23
2018/19
1 (0)
0
0
0.00
Saka was described as “one of the best players in the world” by his Arsenal teammate Gabriel Martinelli earlier in October and it’s hard to dispute it: the England international has posted nine goal contributions from just seven fixtures as Mikel Arteta’s men chase down the Premier League title.
Arteta’s attacking linchpin is much more than an offensive focal point, ranking among the top 15% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for tackles and the top 19% for blocks per 90, as per FBref.
It certainly bodes well for Paez’s prospects that he’s willing to get stuck in and contribute across the pitch, displaying a tenacious bite that has led analyst Ben Mattinson to remark that Chelsea have already “hit the jackpot” on the player, with the height of his ceiling clear from the offing.
Paez has already amassed 61 appearances for his homeland outfit Independiente del Valle, scoring 12 goals and adding six assists, and has featured 21 times in the 2024 LigaPro Serie A, racking up nine goal contributions and averaging two key passes and one dribble per game.
He’s got a long way to go but will be woven into a Chelsea squad bearing so much potential, provided with a platform to showcase his talent and stake his claim for a starring role in Maresca’s squad over the next few years.
The present looks good for Chelsea, Boehly and Maresca, but the future looks even better. The Blues are at the beginning of something special and need only utilise this superabundance of talent to return to the very top of the European game.
So much quality, so much competition. Paez might just be the pick of the bunch, though, with the perfect properties to become a superstar.
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