Jamaican rising star Dujuan “Whisper” Richards has secured a loan move from Chelsea to former English Premier League champions Leicester City until the end of the English football season.

The development was confirmed on Monday by Richards’ agent, Craig Butler, in an exclusive interview with the Jamaica Observer.

“He is on loan until the end of the season,” Butler confirmed. “He has been in the U-21s at Chelsea and he needed more [first team] playing time so we negotiated with Leicester to get him the opportunity to play and perform.”

Richards joined Chelsea from the Phoenix Academy in 2024, with the transfer becoming official in November shortly after his 18th birthday.

The young attacker hit the ground running, quickly impressing the hierarchy at the London-based club after registering eight goal contributions in his first 11 appearances in their reserves team. However, his momentum was halted by a serious knee injury, and since returning to action, he has found it challenging to rediscover his earlier form.

Despite that setback, Butler insists the 20-year-old is ready and eager to embrace the next stage of his development.

“He is very excited and looking forward to it,” Butler said on Monday. “He told me this morning that he will never let me down so he is going to for it.”

The move comes ahead of Jamaica’s crucial FIFA World Cup play-off clash against New Caledonia in March, as the Reggae Boyz continue their push to qualify for their first World Cup since 1998.

Richards featured heavily in the latter stages of the final-round group phase, which concluded in November and saw Jamaica finish second in Group B. However, Butler dismissed suggestions that the loan move was engineered to secure Richards’ place in the national squad.

“Whisper should be selected in Jamaica’s squad, whether he is in the U-21s or not,” Butler said. “You have players in the fifth division in England so I don’t see why Whisper wouldn’t be selected playing in the Premier League 2.”

Butler says the opportunity at Leicester represents a significant step forward for the young forward.

“However, it is a good option for him, playing in the first team at Leicester,” he said. “It’s a good and strong club that won the Premier League. So it is a good opportunity for him to go and show his class and perform.”

Addressing Richards’ long-term future at Chelsea, Butler clarified that the move is strictly temporary and insists that the club still sees value in the player.

“He is on loan, he’s not sold yet,” Butler said. “His contract will be up soon. We chose not to do a straight transfer to Leicester. We want that when he performs, we will be able to look at our options then as his stock will rise heavily once he is in the first team and scoring goals.”

Leicester, who were surprise winners of the English Premier League in 2016, are 16th in the English Football League (EFL) Championship. Richards joins national teammate Bobby Reid at The Foxes.

BUTLER…he told me this morning that he will never let me down so he is going to for it (Photo: Joseph Wellington)