Portsmouth in talks to sign Chelsea man who ‘impressed’ Enzo Maresca | OneFootball

Portsmouth are reportedly in talks to sign exciting Chelsea winger who has previously caught the eye of Enzo Maresca.

As the summer transfer window begins to get into its busiest period with just a few weeks to go, Portsmouth are reportedly in talks to sign Chelsea striker Ryan Kavuma-McQueen.

Since winning the League One title in the 2023-24 campaign, Portsmouth have steadily begun to establish themselves back in the second-tier, finishing 16th and then 18th on 54 and 55 points, respectively.

John Mousinho and Pompey supporters wanted this summer to be a more ambitious one in the transfer market and that appears to have to come to fruition with some intriguing additions to their squad.

After the signings of Odin Bailey on a free transfer from Stockport County and then Eoin Kenny for an undisclosed fee from Dundalk, Pompey then added Serbian attacker Mario Milovanovic from Almeria for a fee believed to be in the region of £5.1 million, as well as Estonia international midfielder Rocco Shein for around £2.1 million from Fredrikstad.

Those two notable signings have since been followed by the signing of Polish goalkeeper Daniel Bielica from NAC Breda and young New Zealander Luke Brooke-Smith from the Wellington Phoenix.

Their business appears to be far from over, though, and now there are suggestions they are targeting a move for Kavuma-McQueen, who caught the eye of Enzo Maresca during his time at Stamford Bridge.

Portsmouth looking to add Ryan Kavuma-McQueen

According to a report from The Standard, Chelsea are willing to listen to offers for three strikers; Liam Delap, Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu – while also reporting that The Blues are in talks with Portsmouth over the loan of Ryan Kavuma-McQueen.

It is suggested that the ‘highly-rated’ attacker could move to Fratton Park so long as there are guarantees over playing time for the 17-year-old.

It is a sign of how highly-rated Kavuma-McQueen is that he has been discussed in a list of outgoings in a report alongside first-teamers such as Delap, Jackson and Guiu.

It is also encouraging for Pompey supporters that Chelsea, with a wealth of talent and quality at all levels, are keen on Kavuma-McQueen to get guaranteed minutes at quite a high level, the Championship, for a player of his age.

Kavuma-McQueen has been a part of Chelsea first-team squads before, making the bench for their UEFA Champions League league phase clash against Dutch giants Ajax in October 2025, with Enzo Maresca having heaped praise on him:

Maresca said of Kavuma-McQueen: “He scored four goals against Germany [in an England U17 7-5 win]; I even watched that game. I was very impressed, but I already knew him because we have one of my staff always watching the second team since last year. They told me that this guy was very good, so I watched him. I think he’s good.”

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Capable of playing on either wing, as well as occasionally in an attacking midfield role, Kavuma-McQueen is an extremely exciting prospect at Chelsea.

Turning 18 in January 2027, the fact that he has already made the first-team squad at Stamford Bridge and is now lined up to play regular football in the Championship would suggest there is real belief and expectation about him fulfilling his potential, especially since he has since been used in pre-season for Xabi Alonso this summer, providing an assist in their recent 6-4 victory over the Western Sydney Wanderers.

He has made his first-team debut for The Blues, coming off the bench in their 7-0 defeat of Port Vale in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup last season, while also making the bench in their UEFA Champions League round of 16 second-leg against Paris Saint-Germain, as well as in Premier League games against Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur at the back end of the campaign.

In the 2025-26 season, Kavuma-McQueen scored five goals and provided three assists in Premier League 2, a level meant primarily for U21 players, while also scoring twice and getting an assist in the UEFA Youth League. In the Premier League U18 Final, having not really been a part of that squad due to his involvement in the U21s, Kavuma-McQueen scored a brace as Chelsea hammered Manchester City by five goals to one.

His record for England youth teams is also exceptional, too, scoring eight goals and getting one assist in six caps for the England U17s after scoring ten in 14 for the U16s and five in three for the U15s.

Out-wide, Portsmouth remained reliant on Josh Murphy through the 2024-25 campaign before an injury hit 2025-26 season but he will again be a key man for Pompey, with a need for further assistance in output from the wing.

Last year, only Adrian Segecic hit double figures for Pompey with their next top scorer being utility man Terry Devlin on five goals – and there is a real need for more goal scoring options.