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Ryan Kavuma-McQueen was the latest Chelsea talent to make his debut under Liam Rosenior after coming off the bench against Port Vale – and both Rosenior and Reece James have responded.
Already, during Rosenior’s reign, Jesse Derry and Shumaira Mheuka have both made their Chelsea debuts in The FA Cup. On Saturday, it was the turn of 17-year-old Kavuma-McQueen, as Chelsea won 7-0.
In Premier League 2 this season, Kavuma-McQueen has been involved in eight goals in just 12 matches, scoring five goals and providing three assists. He’s clocked up 11 goals in 23 games for the youth sides.
Chelsea player ratings vs Port Vale 👏🏻
Who was your MOTM?
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Plenty of hype has been made about Kavuma-McQueen, and Rosenior decided to hand him his debut on Saturday evening, replacing Romeo Lavia in the 78th minute with Chelsea already leading Port Vale 5-0.
Rosenior and James react to Kavuma-McQueen’s debut
It was just the win Rosenior needed, after four straight defeats before the break and the controversy surrounding both Marc Cucurella and Enzo Fernandez. Rosenior couldn’t afford an embarrassing defeat.
They did the job, and then some. Even more so, handing a player a debut that fans had been calling for will have gone down well. Speaking in his press conference after the game, Rosenior was delighted.
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“I was so happy for Ryan. I had the pleasure of watching him in the FA Youth Cup game maybe six weeks ago. I know a lot about the academy. The academy coaches tell me a lot about the players.
“I felt it was a really good moment for Ryan and for what is traditionally an outstanding academy to have another debut,” Rosenior said, having handed a third debut to one of Chelsea’s up-and-coming stars.
Reece James, a product of the Chelsea academy, was also delighted to see Kavuma-McQueen make his debut for Chelsea. He posted on Instagram: “Congrats lil bro, so happy for you.”
Who could Chelsea face in the semi-finals of the FA Cup?
Remarkably, at this stage, there was a cup upset. Southampton, in excellent form in the Championship, managed to beat Arsenal on the south coast. The Saints booked their place in the semis with Chelsea.
Enzo Fernandez and Marc Cucurella’s first sighting after the Chelsea comments 👀
Anything to take away from this?
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Earlier in the day, an Erling Haaland-inspired performance saw Man City demolish Liverpool with a 4-0 win. On Sunday, Leeds United go to West Ham in a battle between two Premier League relegation rivals.
Chelsea then, have a real chance of FA Cup glory without even meeting a Premier League side in their run to the semi-finals. They might even get the chance of a place in the final, without having to do so.
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