The England Under-18 international has played nine games and scored once since arriving at Fratton Park
As Pompey were securing survival in Coventry, talks were already underway on bolstering their Championship future.
Some 100 miles away from the Coventry Building Society Stadium on that April day, Brad Wall was at Cobham pitching a potential loan move for Ryan Kavuma-McQueen.
Chelsea loanee Ryan Kavuma-McQueen has shone at Fratton Park. Picture: Jason Brownplaceholder image
Chelsea loanee Ryan Kavuma-McQueen has shone at Fratton Park. Picture: Jason Brown | Jason Brown
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Supremely confident of avoiding relegation following an impressive late-season charge, the Blues’ head of recruitment had been dispatched to negotiate with Chelsea over landing the highly-regarded 17-year-old.
With an FA Cup outing and one Vertu Trophy appearance already on his CV, the Premier League club were open to pitches for the England under-17 international ahead of the 2026-27 campaign.
Eager to find Kavuma-McQueen a Championship season-long loan to aid his flourishing development, Chelsea were vetting potential suitors.
And, on the day John Mousinho’s men lost 5-1 at the hands of Frank Lampard’s title winners to stay up, the wheels had also been set in motion to win the race for one of the country’s most prodigious attacking talents.
‘Brad was at Cobham having a conversation with Chelsea as regards Ryan’
Pompey sporting director Rich Hughes told The News: ‘Although Ryan came in late during the transfer window, that actually took a long body of work and a lot of conversations with Chelsea throughout the off-season - and then the timing piece.
‘Ryan played a lot of under-21s football and under-19s youth league, so myself and Brad (Wall) had watched him. Obviously Jon Harley also knows a lot of the staff at Chelsea.
‘The day we went to Coventry away, the day we secured Championship status, Brad was actually at Cobham having a conversation with Chelsea as regards Ryan.
Ryan Kavuma-McQueen in action for Chelsea in the FA Youth Cup against Manchester City in February 2026. Picture: Andrew Redington/Getty Imagesplaceholder image
Ryan Kavuma-McQueen in action for Chelsea in the FA Youth Cup against Manchester City in February 2026. Picture: Andrew Redington/Getty Images | Getty Images
‘So that would be mid-April when we expressed an interest and started to put together the case as to why we thought it would fit and why it would make sense.
‘We then had Chelsea’s blessing for him to have a conversation with John, for him to come down to our training ground. He went away with Chelsea during pre-season, by which stage everything was agreed that he’d join us on his return.
‘A lot of work goes into it from a lot of people and sometimes that’s the work which must go into it to get a top player.
‘Chelsea are big believers in Ryan’s talent and probably more so his mentality. When I watched back the interview after Lincoln (in August) where he was speaking very eloquently about his first goal for the club, he showed he has a really balanced head on his shoulders.
‘Although he is a 17-year-old in terms of his natural age, he does not carry himself in that way. He’s a very mature young man, very polite, very respectful, very hard working in training.
‘For all those reasons, you can forget the fact he is 17 at times because he carries himself in a far more developed manner than most 17-year-olds do.
‘I haven’t had the explicit conversation with Chelsea, but I would imagine they see his future as their player, his ceiling is that high, and he’s already on the national pathway with England.
‘They have really high hopes and high intentions for Ryan and we want to give him great exposure. We want him to help us this season - and we’ll see what the future holds for Ryan.’
Portsmouth’s ninth summer signing
Kavuma-McQueen was unveiled as the Blues’ ninth summer recruit on August 14 - two weeks before the transfer window shut.
By that stage, Odin Bailey, Eoin Kenny, Rocco Shein, Marko Milovanovic, Daniel Bielica, Luke Brooke-Smith, Abu Kamara and Benjy Arthur had already signed.
Ryan Kavuma-McQueen celebrates scoring for Pompey at Lincoln in August 2026. Picture: Jason Brownplaceholder image
Ryan Kavuma-McQueen celebrates scoring for Pompey at Lincoln in August 2026. Picture: Jason Brown | Jason Brown
Despite initially moving for the Chelsea starlet some four months earlier, Pompey were required to be patient, following the winger’s inclusion in Xabi Alonso's 29-strong squad for the summer tour of Australia and Asia.
Indeed, Kavuma-McQueen would start the 6-4 victory over A-League side Western Sydney Wanderers in July, although was an unused substitute in the following match in the Accor Stadium against Spurs.
Likewise, he was on the bench against Juventus in Hong Kong, although missed out against AC Milan in Indonesia.
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And, within a week of Chelsea’s return to England, the Blues finally got their man signed, sealed and delivered on a season-loan arrangement.
‘It’s slightly easier with attacking players’
Hughes added: ‘It’s really difficult judging how players will transition from the PL2. There are some similarities with the Football League, but also some differences.
‘It is probably best highlighted in the EFL Trophy, where you get players coming from these elite Academies, going up against League One and League Two sides, and quite often they find it really difficult.
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‘Someone like Ryan is quite different, he played for four or five different groups at Chelsea, because you’ve got the under-18s, the under-21s, the under-19s. They have all these different competitions, so they flit in between groups.
‘It’s slightly easier with attacking players, whereas some of the defensive ones are not exposed to the physicality and the aggressive nature of the Championship.
‘You’re looking for the playing ability of a footballer, but also looking at that adaptability of whether they are going to be able to cope with the demands and the rigours of the Championship and what that 46-game season looks like.’
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