Official: Portsmouth sign Ryan Kavuma-McQueen on loan from Chelsea

One of the most promising prospects currently in the Chelsea Academy, Ryan Kavuma-McQueen is embarking on his first loan adventure. And it will be quite a challenging adventure, with the 17-year-old (17!) winger joining Championship side Portsmouth FC for the season.

With the Blues since the U8 level, Kavuma-McQueen was named to his first senior matchday squad at age 16, and made his senior debut for the club last season as a substitute in our FA Cup quarterfinal win over lower-league Port Vale. He was included in the preseason tour that just finished, starting the first match of the tour, even.

“Ryan is a very talented young player with bags of potential and we’re delighted to have him at Pompey this season. He is quick, direct and can play off both sides. He’s someone who is very highly rated – both by us and Chelsea. […] It will be a challenge for him to be away from home and in a first team environment for a sustained period, but he’s an exciting addition to our squad.”

-John Mousinho, manager; source: Portsmouth FC

As always with that guy, it Mousinho with an “S”, not an “R”. Mousinho has been with Pompey since 2023 (along with assistant, and former Chelsea player Jon Harley), bringing them up from League One and then keeping them in the Championship the last couple seasons. They once had Tino Anjorin on loan from us and gave him regular opportunities (when not injured), so hopefully that will be the case for Kavuma-McQueen as well. (In fact, Mousinho wanted Anjorin for a second season as well, but the youngster would decide to leave Chelsea completely and head to Italy instead. Tino’s currently with Torino, though injuries continue to haunt him.)

In any case, good luck, Ryan! Make us proud.

Portsmouth, who also count former Chelsea prospects John Swift (Swifty!) and Ben Killip (that’s a deep cut) among their number, start their season this weekend, against QPR. (Swifty, now 31, notched his 400th senior professional appearance last season. He was always one of my favorites to watch in the Academy back in the day.)