Liverpool Beaten to Ordóñez Transfer as Chelsea Agree Deal

A day after dependable reviews of Liverpool’s curiosity in Ecuadorian centre-back Deinner Ordonez, Chelsea have agreed a pre-contract deal to signal the teenage expertise.

The Mail‘s Lewis Steele reported on Thursday that Liverpool have been scouting Independiente Del Valle teen Ordonez.

Described as “the perfect participant of his age group in the entire of South America,” hyperlinks with the 16-year-old first emerged in February when he was representing Ecuador on the U20 Copa Sudamericana.

However whereas Liverpool might have hoped to safe an early deal for Ordonez – who can not transfer to the UK till January 2028 when he’s 18 – these hopes have now been dashed.

Chelsea agree deal for Deinner Ordonez

It has now been broadly reported that Ordonez will as a substitute be part of Chelsea, with switch journalist Fabrizio Romano writing on X that the settlement was reached on Friday.

The teen will stick with Independiente Del Valle for the following two years earlier than formally transferring to Stamford Bridge at the beginning of 2028.

This is because of post-Brexit guidelines prohibiting signings underneath the age of 18 from exterior of the UK, although Chelsea‘s settlement is inside the confines of the legislation.

Ordonez is about to observe Kendry Paez, who made the identical transfer in the summertime switch window earlier than being farmed out on mortgage to sister-club Strasbourg.

Who Liverpool may goal subsequent: 8 centre-backs linked

Clearly any deal for Ordonez would have been supplementary slightly than a part of Liverpool’s instant first-team plans, with the Premier League champions nonetheless anticipated to signal not less than one new centre-back.

At senior degree the precedence goal is Crystal Palace‘s Marc Guehi, who was poised to affix on deadline day just for the London membership to drag out of negotiations.

Guehi will probably be a free agent on the finish of the season and continues to be touted with a transfer to Anfield, however Liverpool are additionally linked with a variety of different central defenders.

These embrace Ordonez’s countryman and namesake, Membership Brugge’s Joel Ordonez, together with Dortmund’s Nico Schlotterbeck, Bayern Munich‘s Dayot Upamecano, Wolfsburg’s Konstantinos Koulierakis and Sporting CP duo Ousmane Diomande and Zeno Debast.

Curiously, Steele additionally famous point out of Inter Milan’s Alessandro Bastoni, who might be lined up as a world-class alternative for Virgil van Dijk.

Liverpool will proceed to scour the marketplace for alternative to signal the perfect younger skills, too, and they’re already believed to have lined up a deal for winger Sidy Barhama Ndiaye, 15, from Senegalese membership Diambars FC.

Ndiaye is just not set to show 18 till December 2027, which means any transfer to the Premier League would happen in 2028.