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‘Whisper’ making a loud statement
October 16, 2025
After two years out of the Reggae Boyz team, Dujuan 'Whisper' Richards looks an even more impressive player on his return, making a loud statement in cameo performances with the Reggae Boyz in Group B Concacaf World Cup qualifiers against Curacao and Bermuda.
The 19-year-old, who spent a year in the medical bay after a knee surgery and rehabilitation, played 20 minutes versus Curacao on Friday and 28 minutes against Bermuda on Tuesday night, and in both spells showed that his game has developed significantly.
He now has Reggae Boyz head coach, Steve McClaren, believing that his talent can take the team to another level.
"The few days training we had with him emphasised even more what a (good) player he can be. (He has) a long way to go, but I think (in) his two cameo performances, he really impressed and looked a threat.
"A real good addition to the squad and I am just thinking that he might just take us up a level," McClaren continued. "We worked with him for two days, we saw him in two 30-minute (periods) and there is some talent there," he stated.
Richards netted his second international goal, at the 76th minute, for the Reggae Boyz on Tuesday to seal the 4-0 win over Bermuda. The other goals were scored by Dante Leverock (24th minute, OG), Bobby Reid (26th) and Shamar Nicholson (36th).
Although many fans have been calling for the former Kingston College star's inclusion since he returned to action in August, McClaren said his club, Chelsea, have been managing his rehabilitation, and that the time wasn't right until now.
"We followed him for a year. We visited Chelsea in the summer, where they gave us a real in-depth analysis of where 'Whisper' was. He was just coming back, they were controlling his minutes," McClaren said of the Chelsea Under 21 player.
"We followed him and he was getting 45 minutes, 50 minutes and Chelsea was kind of managing him. So for a year now I wanted to pick 'Whisper' in the squad. When we did at the beginning he wasn't playing 45 minutes," he noted.
"He has been playing under 21 football for Chelsea, but we still had a lot to do. We got him and threw him on for 30 minutes and you could see the quality he has."
