Independiente del Valle’s Darwin Guagua is on his way to Birmingham City, according to a surprising claim from Ecuador.
The 18-year-old came up through the ranks of the Ecuadorian club’s youth system and made his first team debut in 2025.
He played 39 matches [22 starts] so far and that would have been enough to convince Birmingham City.
Birmingham City finalising transfer
Journalist Roberto Omar Machado says the midfielder will soon be a new Blues player.
The Championship side have made Jhon Solís’ stay permanent this summer, after initially signing him on loan from Girona in January. They want to add another midfielder to Chris Davies’ squad.
Late on Friday, Darwin Guagua played 69 minutes in his side’s 2-0 win over LDU Quito. According to Machado, that would be his last match for Independiente del Valle before his move to St Andrew’s.
“This could be Darwin Guagua’s last match in Ecuadorian football. He’s going to the English League and today could be the last match he plays in Ecuadorian football,” he said.
The journalist later shared another update, reporting that Birmingham City would be the youngster’s next destination.
Davies’ side would have ‘practically finalised’ the operation, meaning they are close to securing the Ecuador international’s services.
Director confirms talks
Last November, Independiente del Valle sporting director Luis Fernando Saritama said the midfielder was among the players attracting interest. However, a move never took shape in January. That may not be the case this summer.
| League 2026 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appearances | 15 | |||
| Started | 9 | |||
| Minutes per game | 46 | |||
| Total minutes played | 686 | |||
| Goals | 2 | |||
| Asssits | 2 | |||
After yesterday’s clash, journalist Alisson Abigail spoke to Independiente del Valle general manager Santiago Morales to ask about the English interest in Darwin Guagua. Doble Cinco took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share the interview.
“We’re in talks. We’re used to waiting until the documents are signed, until it’s finalised, but we’ll see what happens in the coming days,” he said.
VAMOS A VER QUE PASA EN ESTOS DÍAS 🙌
Santiago Morales, gerente general de IDV conversó sobre los rumores de Darwin Guagua a la Premier League y esto respondió 👀
Extraoficialmente, el Birmingham City sería el nuevo equipo de Darwin Guagua. Tal como adelantó Roberto Machado, el duelo ante Liga sería el último con IDV. https://t.co/Wtoej7OTpW pic.twitter.com/GFPmiAhQoO
— MrOFF (@MrOFFSIDER) August 8, 2026
