Chelsea star follows in Andrey Santos' footsteps as Enzo Maresca handed summer transfer boost

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• Kendry Paez

Andrey Santos shone while on loan at Strasbourg last season while Chelsea kept a close eye on the Brazilian's development, and another youngster is now following suit

Chelsea loanee Kendry Paez has been named Ligue 1 Young Player of the Month for his performances in September.

The 18-year-old attacking midfielder has started life at Strasbourg, the Blues' sister club, exceptionally well and his efforts have now been recognised. Paez officially moved to Stamford Bridge in the summer after turning 18 in May, but the decision was made to loan the Ecuadorian out for the 2025/26 season to help his development in a first-team environment.

Paez has featured nine times for Strasbourg thus far in all competitions, scoring the one goal, and while that is not the most electrifying record, there has been excitement around the South American's performances in France. Strasbourg boss Liam Rosenior has already expressed how pleased he is with Paez and has also highlighted the teenager's "remarkable attitude".

Rosenior said recently: "Kendry is a kid who has a gift. He's an ultra-talented player who adapted quickly. But what I want to highlight is the way he's adapted to the group and the way he works to be at the level. He has a remarkable attitude."

The Strasbourg manager is very highly rated by BlueCo, the consortium that owns Chelsea and the French club, and that was made abundantly clear in April when the 41-year-old signed a contract extension with the Ligue 1 outfit. Rosenior has helped develop the likes of Paez, as well as Mamadou Sarr, Mike Penders, Djordje Petrovic and Andrey Santos.

The last of those list, Santos, excelled while on loan at Strasbourg last season. The Brazil international, who is now an integral part of the Chelsea first-team squad, featured 34 times in total under Rosenior in France, scoring 11 goals and providing five assists along the way.

Chelsea's sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart were often in attendance at Stade de la Meinau to keep an eye on multiple players and their development. Behdad Eghbali, the Blues' co-owner, also tries to attend as many Strasbourg matches as he can.

Speaking about his loan spell at Strasbourg last month, Santos explained to Globo: "In France, I received full support from Chelsea. They made it clear to me that I was there to earn minutes. Every two months, someone would come and visit us. Scouts and directors would always send messages. It was an exchange of messages that made me feel part of the project."

Paez is receiving the same treatment during his loan spell. The Ecuador international is very highly rated by Chelsea but it was always the plan to loan him out when he arrived at the club. The two sporting directors have been at multiple Strasbourg matches already this season and will continue to attend as the campaign goes on.

So far, so good for Paez and Chelsea will be hoping his development continues on the same track as the campaign goes on. Next summer, the Blues will make a decision about what comes next for Paez - whether that be at Stamford Bridge or elsewhere.