South American football expert Tim Vickery has claimed watching Chelsea youngster Kendry Paez play last night was an absolute joy.
He told ESPN that the swagger he portrayed was great to watch as he left his mark before being replaced with 20 minutes to go.
Last night saw Paez make history as the second youngest South American to ever feature for his country’s first team.
He also broke the record set by Pele as the youngest from his continent to register an assist in a senior game.
The youngster featured in a midfield trio last night, with Moises Caicedo joining him with a stellar display of his own.
It was expected when Chelsea signed the youngster that he would be being developed to play on the right of their attack.
Paez stars in new position
However, Vickery has claimed he excelled in the middle of the park against Uruguay in their 2-1 win.
He said: “Paez operated on the right of a midfield trio. Left-footed but able to go either way, there was a swagger and a style about his football, a casual ease of accepting responsibility to set up the play, that was a joy to watch.
“He did not last the entire game — that would have been too much to expect — but by the time he left the match, with some 20 minutes to go, he had laid on the winning goal.
“Caicedo started to vary the repertoire. He worked some short corners, and from one of them he slipped Paez, his future Chelsea teammate, to the bye-line. Paez played in a low cross and there was Torres once more, this time stretching out a leg to win the game.”
While he won’t be able to feature for the Blues for a couple of seasons, there is plenty of excitement for when he does finally come through at Stamford Bridge.
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