Ecuadorian starlet Kendry Paez (18), recently recalled from his RC Strasbourg Alsace loan by Chelsea and loaned for two years to River Plate, has given The Blues cause to question his attitude, according to L’Équipe.

Chelsea signed midfielder Paez from Independiente del Valle as a 16-year-old in the summer of 2023 but, by the following year, he had already made more headlines in gossip columns than the football pages for his partying, drinking and nitrous oxide inhalation. 

Chelsea sent Paez to train with sister club Strasbourg in April 2025. He did not make a great impression in training yet, despite the reservations of coach Liam Rosenior and elements of the changing room, Paez was officially loaned to Les Alsaciens that summer.

Paez began the current campaign brightly, showing his versatility by featuring as a wing-back and as a central striker, scoring against Nantes and winning the Ligue 1 young player of the month award for September.

His form quickly dropped off, however, with question marks resurfacing over his lack of professionalism and his lifestyle choices (including several trips to Disneyland Paris and to nightclubs in Strasbourg and in Germany).

Having featured for just one minute since Gary O’Neil replaced Rosenior, Chelsea have made the decision to send Paez back to South America, in the hope that he will refocus on his football.