RIO NGUMOHA’S last-ditch winner against Newcastle was a blow to everyone at Chelsea, not only as he gained two points for a team who could be title challengers, but because Chelsea lost him for NOTHING.
But, fans need not fear, as they have a starlet arguably even better than him already in their academy.
GettyRio Ngumoha was once a Chelsea talent, before being poached by Liverpool[/caption]
Shutterstock EditorialRyan Kavuma-McQueen has made a name for himself at Cobham[/caption]
Step forward Ryan Kavuma-McQueen who has become a fan favourite at Cobham, much as Ngumoha was before he moved to Merseyside.
The Blues fended off intense interest to keep Kavuma-McQueen, including from inside the Premier League and on the continent, and despite being just 16 years old, he is thriving for the under-21s already this season.
The quality of Kavuma-McQueen is undeniable, and proven from the stats when playing in Chelsea‘s Cobham setup.
At under-18 level and in the Premier League 2, he has accumulated 10 goals and four assists in 23 appearances.
In comparison, Rio Ngumoha has made 27 appearances for Chelsea and Liverpool in those competitions, scoring three goals, and getting the same amount of assists in over 600 minutes of gametime extra.
The crucial thing here, however, is that Rio Ngumoha has got an all-important Premier League goal to his name now, while Kavuma-McQueen is yet to get a taste of top flight action.
He has developed something of a trademark finish at Cobham, with an elite ball-striking technique, often blasting the ball hard across the goal, aiming for the corners.
The talented left-winger almost found the back of the net vs Manchester City’s under-21 team with a weak-footed rocket from the edge of the box, and the first-year scholar was one of the best players on display in that game alongside Shim Mheuka, who scored a hat-trick.
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Rapid with and without the ball, and very intelligent in his movement, he needs to grow physically into the role of a Premier League winger, but showed he won’t shy away from a physical challenge with a goal for Chelsea’s U21 side against League Two side Bromley in pre-season, and a brace against the Preston North End first team.
Stats, of course, don’t show the full picture.
But they do give a good indication of the quality of the two players, of which Kavuma-McQueen is even YOUNGER having been born on 1 January 2009.
Of course then, this begs the question, why on earth is Kavuma-McQueen not playing in the Premier League if he’s so good?
Well, that is down to Chelsea and their young player strategy, but they will be eager not to make the same mistake with the hottest young prospects at Cobham now that they made with Ngumoha.
There has already been reported interest in the Blues’ starlet from the likes of Liverpool and Barcelona.
But Chelsea managed to tie him down to a two-year scholarship deal, which was recently announced alongside fellow academy gems Ibrahim Rabbaj, Isago Silva, and Mathis Eboue.
It is expected that Kavuma-McQueen will shine for the U21’s this season, but he is one to keep an eye on should Chelsea end up short of a left-winger at any point this campaign.
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