A 16-year-old academy starlet Chelsea added to their Champions League squad on Wednesday afternoon has made the bench to face Ajax this evening.
Ryan Kavuma-McQueen is a winger who regularly turns out for the Blues’ under-21s side, four months shy of his 17th birthday.
Kavuma-McQueen has been developing at the club’s Cobham academy since the age of eight, and also represented England at under-15, under-16, and under-17 levels.
Daily Mail Sport exclusively revealed on Tuesday that Kavuma-McQueen was one of the 33 players added to the European ranks.
Among the additions to their B list includes Thiago Silva’s son Isago, 16, and Michael Emenalo’s son Landon, 17, as well as multiple promising talents from their Cobham academy such as Kavuma-McQueen, Ibrahim Rabbaj and Shim Mheuka.
Clubs can add an unlimited number of players to their B list the night before a match, as long as they are born on or after January 1, 2004 and meet other eligibility.
Ryan Kavuma-McQueen has made the bench for Chelsea’s Champions League clash with Ajax
Daily Mail Sport understands Chelsea may have added their large number of academy kids to avoid having to add them individually before games moving forward.
Maresca has previously spoken warmly of Kavuma-McQueen, and shared that he had watched him in action on international duty.
‘He scored four goals against Germany (in England Under-17s’ 7-5 away win); I even watched that game,’ Maresca said earlier this month.
‘I was very impressed, but I already knew him because we have one of my staff always watching the second team (Under-21s) since last year. They told me that this guy was very good, so I watched him. I think he’s good.’
