River on alert over Kendry Páez, Chelsea exit could come early | OneFootball

The attacking midfielder was not called up to face Gimnasia, and the English side is close to being able to trigger his recall clause.

Ahead of the Torneo Apertura quarterfinal match against Gimnasia de La Plata at the Más Monumental Stadium, River coach Eduardo Coudet caused surprise with the squad list because he did not include Kendry Páez, who had come on in the round of 16 against San Lorenzo.

The Ecuadorian’s absence is not only striking because the player is in the coach’s plans and has a role under him, but also because it could lead Chelsea, the club that owns his rights, to activate the early recall clause for the next transfer window.

In the loan deal the player signed with El Millonario, a clause was included allowing the English club to recall Páez if he does not appear in 50% of the matches played by Eduardo Coudet’s team over each half of the season.

Since being announced as a River signing on January 30, the Ecuadorian has been available for 21 matches. Of those, he has featured in 12, meaning he has played in 57% of the games, right on the edge of being recalled by Chelsea if the club decides to do so.

If El Millonario reaches the Torneo Apertura final and Coudet once again leaves Páez out, then the recall could happen. This is because the team would have played 25 matches in the semester and the player would only have logged minutes in 12 of them, that is, in less than half.

So far, Kendry has started 3 of the 21 matches in which he was available to the coach, while in another 9 he was on the bench and came on to get minutes. On the other hand, in 6 he did not come on, and in the other 3 he was not called up, including this one against Gimnasia.

As things stand, the end of the semester will be key in determining what happens with Páez’s future. Most likely, he will stay at El Millonario since he is in the coach’s plans, and there is also an agreement between the clubs to loan players so they can get playing time.

Kendry Páez’s numbers at River

Since arriving at El Millonario, the 19-year-old attacking midfielder has played a total of 12 matches, scoring one goal and providing one assist. He has also received one yellow card and has not been sent off in 453 minutes on the pitch.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.