Todd Boehly appears keen to resume his spending spree at Stamford Bridge but Manchester United stand in Chelsea's way. The Blues spent over £300million in the January transfer window, completing deals for eight players.
Enzo Fernandez penned a deal with the west Londoners on deadline day for a club-record fee, following Mykhailo Mudryk, Noni Madueke, David Datro Fofana, Benoit Badiashile and Andrey Santos, with Malo Gusto arriving in the summer. Joao Felix also joined on loan from Atletico Madrid.
While many may have thought that Boehly's spending spree is over, it seems quite the opposite with the American billionaire lining up his next signing. According to Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea are in the race to sign Ecuadorian wonderkid Kendry Paez.
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The report outlines that the Blues face competition from United and Bayer Leverkusen for the 15-year-old midfielder. Journalist Eduardo Erazo has stated that Independiente del Valle have already rejected a £14.8million bid for Paez.
In the summer, Chelsea signed five teenagers; Omari Hutchinson from Arsenal; Zak Sturge from Brighton; Gabriel Slonina from Chicago Fire, Cesare Casadei from Inter Milan and Carney Chukwuemeka from Aston Villa. The quintet were followed by Gusto and Santos last month.
The influx of young talent seems to be apart of Chelsea's long-term project, the 'Vision 2030' model. In June, the director of football development and operations Neil Bath said: "It involves our board and owner, who are keen to hear our innovative and creative ideas, which will see us kick on for the next five to 10 years.
"I can assure people that we will not rest on our laurels of having boys [from the academy] involved in Champions League success. It's important to set out what we are doing in the short-term, but also to have a long-term vision and direction of where we want our academy to be in the future. That is always the main focus."
And, technical director Christopher Vivell said: "Chelsea are building the most exciting project in global football and I'm extremely proud to be joining the club. There is so much potential for the club to continue to succeed, develop and grow.
"Under the new ownership, Graham Potter and the broader sporting team, there is a clear and sustainable philosophy underpinned by performance analysis, data and innovation. I am looking forward to playing a part in that."
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