Chelsea fans realise their ‘best player’ from international duty can’t kick a ball for them for another TWO YEARS
CHELSEA fans were left feeling frustrated after one of their young stars stole the show and made history on the international stage – but he must wait TWO years to play for them.
A host of Mauricio Pochettino’s squad have been in action across the globe over the past week for their respective nations.
AFPKendry Paez (R) stole the show on his Ecuador debut despite being just 16[/caption]
Conor Gallagher was one of those, coming off the bench to help England beat Scotland 3-1 at Hampden Park last night.
But it was one of his younger colleagues, who is yet to appear for the Blues, that had supporters talking this morning.
Kendry Perez, at the age of just 16, is currently playing for Independiente del Valle in Ecuador but is already a first-team regular.
It was announced in the summer that Chelsea had agreed a deal to sign for the Premier League club when he turns 18 in May 2025.
He has already hit the headlines when scoring in his first senior game and he has starred at both the U17 and U20 World Cups.
Perez was last night thrown into the cauldron of World Cup qualification and he grasped his opportunity with both hands, helping Ecuador to a crucial 2-1 win over Uruguay.
Only the legendary Argentinian Diego Maradona has featured for a South American side at international level at a younger age than him.
But despite narrowly missing out on that record, he did manage to surpass another held by Brazilian icon Pele by becoming the youngest in the continent’s history to register an assist at senior international level.
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Paez, who played on the right of a midfield trio, shone throughout his debut and capped off the display by laying on the winning goal for Felix Torres on 61 minutes before receiving a rapturous applause when he was replaced shortly afterwards.
As news of his fine performance started to spread on social media, Chelsea fans were delighted, but that excitement soon turned to frustration as they realised the wait they had to see him in action for the West London club.
One fan tweeted: “Turns out our best player from international duty isn’t allowed to kick a ball for the club for another 2 years.”
Another asked: “Is there a way around that stupid rule?”
While another added: “So frustrating but hopefully worth the wait.”
