Chelsea have reportedly agreed the future transfer of young defender Deinner Ordóñez, who currently plays for Independiente del Valle in Ecuador — the same team from where we signed Kendry Páez in a similar
manner (and the same team where Moisés Caicedo once caught the eye of European scouts). Strong academy there, evidently.
As per Fabrizio Romano, Ordóñez will only join Chelsea in January 2028, after his 18th birthday. Ordóñez just recently turned 16, though he’s been playing consistently two or three age-levels up, including for IDV as well as for the Ecuador youth national teams (currently at the U20 level for both). He’s currently a center back, but positions at this age are not necessarily set in stone.
While not yet confirmed officially, Ordóñez looks set to be the latest in the line of these of pre-agreed future transfers of teenagers, joining the likes of the aforementioned Kendry, the already impactful Estêvão, and young Dastan Satpaev, who’s continued to excel for FC Kairat in Kazakhstan. Oh, and there’s also Geovany Quenda from Sporting, set to make the move next summer (like Satpaev). Tough to keep track of them all! Ordóñez looks to be primarily a defensive player though, so that’s cool.
