Full article : Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso has confirmed he is not considering picking Kendry Paez before the January transfer window opens. Paez is back at the club after his loan at River Plate was cut short at the end of last month. Attempts were made by Chelsea to find the Ecuador international a loan in England before the domestic transfer deadline on September 1 but nothing was finalised. The Athletic revealed last week that Chelsea’s main focus for Paez right now is simply to integrate him back in the club and to work with him to improve his standards. Alonso has revealed that does not mean the 19-year-old attacking midfielder will get to feature in the senior squad under him. When asked on Tuesday if he is thinking about using him before the new year, Alonso replied: “No, no. He is not part of the plans. At the moment, he is not part of the first team squad.” Paez has not played for Chelsea since completing a move from Independiente del Valle for £17.3million (now $23.4m) last summer. The two clubs agreed a deal in 2023 when he was 16 but he had to wait until he turned 18 to officially join the London side. The teenager was sent on loan to Strasbourg for the first half of last season, playing 21 times. He made only 10 appearances for River Plate after switching to them in January, of which three were from the start. There are windows in other domestic leagues still open elsewhere if Chelsea want to arrange another loan now rather than waiting for January. Mexico, Brazil and Greece are just some of the options available. Meanwhile, Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo is back in training after missing the last two games with a calf injury. He will not return against Leeds United in the Carabao Cup third round on Wednesday night and Alonso admits he does not want to rush his return. And striker Dastan Satpayev, who is on loan at Burnley, has returned to Cobham from the Championship side in order to receive treatment on a hamstring injury which their head coach Nicky Hayen said would keep the 18-year-old out for “weeks”, via the Burnley Express.   submitted by   /u/Shroft [link]   [comments]