The lottery ticket known as Kendry Páez doesn’t look to be turning into a winner anytime soon for Chelsea, with the youngster struggling to make the necessary step up after making his long prearranged transfer official last summer.
He couldn’t quite cut it at RC Strasbourg — 21 appearances but just 700 minutes under Liam Rosenior in the first half of the season — and things haven’t gone much better away from the pressures of Europe at River Plate. He’s started just three games since joining on loan
in January, adding a further eleven substitute appearances off the bench for less than 500 minutes in total. Argentinian media seem fairly convinced that he’s played his last game for River, expecting Chelsea to recall him after the World Cup. (He’s still in the frame for Ecuador.)
Ben Jacobs reported a couple days ago that Chelsea will be assessing the situation “in the coming weeks”. While it’s not officially known whether we have the option to cut Kendry’s loan short at the halfway point, that should be little more than a formality. I don’t imagine anyone’s really satisfied with how things are going, with River recently dropping him entirely from their matchday squads in the newly reintroduced Apertura playoffs.
All that said, Kendry’s still just 19 (and only as of a few weeks ago), and player development is never linear. But it’s imperative that his next move finds him a situation that’s conducive to his success and gets him consistent playing time.
