OFFICIAL: Chelsea confirm loan of attacking midfielder at a crucial moment in his career | OneFootball

Chelsea have just confirmed the loan of Ecuador talent Kendry Paez to their sister club Strasbourg on loan until the end of the season.

Paez prepares for first European league season

Kendry Paez playing for Ecuador. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images)

This one has been in the pipeline for a while – Paez spent some time in the spring training with the Ligue 1 team after his season on loan back with Independiente del Valle in Ecuador ended. The teenage talent then went to the Club World Cup with Enzo Maresca and the first team group – although he wasn’t included in the actual squad, so didn’t play.

This is a funny moment in Paez’s career – he was seen as such an exceptional wonderkid, but his star has waned a little just as his big move to Europe has finally come about. Estevao Willian is the talk of the town now, and the hype around Paez has died off.

It’s vital that he battles through any adversity in his first steps at Strasbourg and shows he’s ready to play at the top level. We’ve all seen the potential he has.

Paez joins Strasbourg at a tough moment

This completes Chelsea’s Strasbourg complement of 3 loans – for now. Filipe Coelho, last season’s Development Squad coach, has gone to join as an assistant manager to Liam Rosenior. That shows how BlueCo are trying to establish a coaching conveyor belt much like the one seen at City Football Group.

The Alsatians face a tough task this season – they will be competing in the Conference League as well as in Ligue 1, and have lost a lot of their key players from their successful campaign last time out. Djordje Petrovic, Habib Diarra and Andrey Santos are all gone, with the players coming in to replace them all younger and less experienced.