Pompey have completed their expected deal to sign Chelsea youngster Ryan Kavuma-McQueen on a season-long loan.
The 17-year-old forward becomes Portsmouth’s ninth signing of the transfer window and their third new arrival this week. His move follows Abu Kamara’s return to Fratton Park from Hull City for a fee believed to be around £2.5 million on Monday, while centre-back Benjamin Arthur joined on loan on Wednesday.
Kavuma-McQueen will add further attacking depth to John Mousinho’s squad ahead of the 2025-26 Championship campaign, which begins against QPR on Saturday.
Portsmouth have recently faced attacking concerns, with Josh Murphy, Keshi Anderson, Harvey Blair and Franco Umeh all unavailable through injury for last weekend’s Carabao Cup defeat at West Ham. That opened the door for New Zealand teenager Luke Brooke-Smith to make his first full Pompey appearance following his move from Wellington Phoenix.
Kavuma-McQueen arrives at Portsmouth after being involved in Chelsea’s pre-season tour of Australia and Asia. The England Under-17 international featured for 45 minutes in Chelsea’s opening fixture against Western Sydney Wanderers on July 28, providing an assist during a 6-4 victory.
He did not feature in Chelsea’s remaining four matches on the tour, including their 3-3 draw with Johor Darul Ta’zim.
The teenager made his senior Chelsea debut in April, coming on as a substitute during the Blues’ 7-0 FA Cup victory over Port Vale.
At youth level, Kavuma-McQueen made 14 appearances for Chelsea in Premier League 2 last season, scoring five goals and providing three assists.
His move to Portsmouth is his first loan spell away from Chelsea since joining the Premier League club at the age of seven. He remains under contract at Stamford Bridge until 2028.
