German engineering? It is nice at its finest, but on a bobbly and soggy surface at the Sportschule Wedau in Duisburg on Tuesday morning, it was no match for England’s own Lightning McQueen.
That is Ryan Kavuma-McQueen, the 16-year-old of Chelsea who, in the first half of a drenched duel with Germany’s Under-17s, scored a hat-trick and assisted another goal scored by Floyd Samba, the son of Chris whom Blackburn Rovers fans will remember. That included one 25-yard left-footed strike into the opposite corner.
Kavuma-McQueen saved arguably his best finish of this 11am clash for the second half when he lobbed the goalkeeper, young Leonard Prescott of Bayern Munich, from a tight angle with the outside of his boot after an innovative assist by Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli, also of Chelsea.
England won 7-5 in the end and Kavuma-McQueen’s showcase in superiority came amid scrutiny over how Chelsea lost Rio Ngumoha to Liverpool after the 16-year-old scored his first Premier League goal against Newcastle United before the international break.
Both the Blues and the Reds remain at war over compensation for Ngumoha with those who helped him develop at Cobham believing their rivals claimed a ‘generational talent’ from them.
But this was a timely reminder that the Chelsea conveyor belt has others coming through and in Kavuma-McQueen – a winger who has been with the club since the age of seven – he is not someone that those at Stamford Bridge are intending on losing like Ngumoha. Even if he did leave a lasting impression on the scouts in attendance in Duisburg.
Chelsea wonderkid Ryan Kavuma-McQueen, 16, excelled for England Under 17s on Tuesday
Kavuma-McQueen scored four times and assisted another in an astonishing 7-5 victory
Kavuma-McQueen signed his scholarship agreement at the start of this season, alongside 15 other schoolboys including Mathis Eboue, the 16-year-old son of Emmanuel who also represented England’s Under-17s on Tuesday, and Isago Silva, also 16 and the son of Thiago.
When agreeing to sign up as a scholar, it is not unusual for clubs to broach the terms that would come with their first professional contract upon turning 17.
Kavuma-McQueen’s 17th birthday is in January, at which stage he is expected to pen his first pro deal.
He is on Enzo Maresca’s radar, along with others, such as Reggie Walsh, the 16-year-old midfielder, and Shim Mheuka, the 17-year-old forward who scored twice for England’s Under 19s versus the Netherlands on Tuesday also. They have earned first-team opportunities.
Kavuma-McQueen is still awaiting that chance for himself. It is expected to come, sooner or later, though the issue is Chelsea are blessed with winger options.
On the left alone, this summer they signed Jamie Gittens for £55million from Borussia Dortmund and Alejandro Garnacho for £40m from Manchester United, while Tyrique George’s deadline-day switch to Fulham collapsed at the eleventh hour.
All Kavuma-McQueen can do is continue to impress in Chelsea’s youth set-up in the hope that, with no Conference League this season, they find an opportunity for him at some stage, even if that is only a space on Maresca’s substitutes’ bench so that he can gain match-day experience.
Daily Mail Sport mentioned Kavuma-McQueen in our Chelsea Confidential column back in March.
As well as being an England youth star, the 16-year-old plays for Chelsea’s Under 21 side
Chelsea are desperate to ensure Kavuma-McQueen doesn’t leave the club like Rio Ngumoha
That was after he started for England’s Under 16s versus France in Spain on the Wednesday. On the Friday, he scored the winner for Chelsea’s Under 21s against Ipswich Town. On the Saturday, he gave their Under 18s the lead over West Bromwich Albion.
That was a good week, much like last month when he was highly impressive in the Chelsea Under 21s’ season-opening 3-1 victory over Manchester City and then followed that up by scoring a sublime solo goal in their subsequent 5-0 win at Newcastle.
Chelsea’s academy is following the first-team strategy in that they do not mind their average age being much younger than everyone else’s, so long as those selected are good enough. The average age of the Under-21 team that opened their campaign was younger than 18 years old.
Kavuma-McQueen was among those who helped bring down that age, and on Tuesday, he downed Germany to offer another reminder for why Chelsea’s hopes of growing the next wonderkid were not purely pinned on Ngumoha.