Fabrizio Romano says Man Utd will rival Chelsea for 'highly rated' Ecuadorian who is just 15

Manchester United are competing with Chelsea and Bayer Leverkusen to sign Kendry Paez, according to Fabrizio Romano.

The Ecuadorian wonderkid has taken age-group football by storm in his homeland, and aged just 15, has already broken into Independiente del Valle's under-20 team.

Paez also turns out for Ecuador’s under-17 side, whom he has scored three times for in just five appearances from central midfield.

While the teenager is primed to make his first team debut for Independiente, he is also on the radar of some of Europe’s biggest teams, including Man Utd and Chelsea.

Romano confirms Man Utd and Chelsea interest

Transfer guru Romano confirmed that Chelsea and Man Utd were battling it out to sign Paez, with a decision on the youngster’s future to be made “soon”.

The journalist tweeted: “Chelsea are in the race with Man Utd and Bayer Leverkusen to sign Kendry Paez, 2007-born Ecuadorian talent.

“Independiente del Valle’s midfielder, Kendry Paez is highly rated — a decision to be made soon.”

Chelsea are in the race with Man Utd and Bayer Leverkusen to sign Kendry Paez, 2007-born Ecuadorian talent ⭐️🇪🇨 #transfers

Independiente del Valle’s midfielder, Kendry Paez is highly rated — decision to be made soon.

🎥 https://t.co/CmlarAfNTu pic.twitter.com/MMl6sQJDzt

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) February 14, 2023

The youngster, whose playing style has been compared to Angel Di Maria and James Rodriguez, can operate in midfield and on the flank.

Indeed, reports in Ecuador claimed last week that Chelsea were one of a number of clubs attempting to sign the player, and that the Blues had already seen a whopping £14.8million bid rejected for his services.

That's despite Paez not being able to make the move to Europe until he's 18 - in two-and-a-half years.

Furthermore, Spanish outlet Defensa Central claim Paez is the subject of interest from Real Madrid. Such a move would be plausible considering Los Blancos' lauded scout Juni Calafat's history in identifying several prodigious South American prospects over the years, including Federico Valverde, Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Endrick.