19-Year-Old Starlet Excluded from Chelsea Plans as Alonso Makes Position Clear

19-year-old Kendry Paez has returned to London after his loan spell at River Plate was ended early by the Argentine club. Chelsea head coach Xabi Alonso confirmed that the Ecuadorian player will not be part of the first-team plans this season.

Only able to stay after failed loan move

Chelsea originally hoped to find another loan club for Paez in England, but the deal could not be completed before the UK transfer window closed. When asked, Alonso directly ruled out the possibility of Paez joining the first team before January.

Alonso said: "No, no. He is not in the plans. At the moment, he is not part of the first-team squad." The statement was reported by The Athletic.

Statistics do not support a first-team place

Paez made only 469 minutes of appearances for River Plate in 2026, scoring two goals. His last appearance for River Plate came at the end of May, when he played only 13 minutes as a substitute.

Since Chelsea signed him in July 2025, Paez has not played a match for Chelsea. He has been loaned to River Plate and Ligue 1 side Strasbourg. At Strasbourg, he made 20 appearances, totaling 711 minutes and scoring one goal.

World Cup experience unrelated to midfield injuries

Recently, Paez received playing time at the 2026 World Cup, but he did not feature in any of the three group-stage matches.

Alonso's decision to keep Paez away from the first team comes while Moises Caicedo and Jordan Henderson are both sidelined with injuries. Alonso refused to rush Caicedo back despite the Ecuador international having returned to training; Henderson remains unavailable after suffering an injury in North America.