Portsmouth flop seeking 16th club by the age of 28 as ex-QPR, Barnsley and England youngster on the move yet again

He had a forgettable spell at Fratton Park - now the much-travelled defender is seeking his 16th club at the age of 28.

There will be no Football League return for Cole Kpekawa, despite Bromley’s promotion to League Two following play-off success.

Instead the former QPR man has been released by The Ravens, after featuring just seven times in their National League programme in 2023-24.

Recruited last summer following his departure from Maidenhead, Kpekawa appeared for Bromley just once since October and was sent out on loan to Oxford City and Kidderminster.

It has been a familiar story in a nomadic career which has seen him serve in the top six divisions in English football as well as clubs in Slovakia and Scotland, and for England under-20s.

Kpekawa was once regarded as a rising talent and, at the age of 18, joined Pompey on loan from QPR in March 2015.

However, he featured just twice in a disastrous Fratton Park spell which was cut short after a month by QPR, who opted to recall him having slipped well out of the Blues’ first-team picture.

Recruited by manager Andy Awford to bolster the League Two side’s defence, the youngster was handed a debut in a 1-0 loss at AFC Wimbledon as a left wing-back, despite having never played the role before.

He retained his place for the Fratton Park clash with Shrewsbury the following match, yet again struggled in a 2-0 loss.

Kpekawa never played for Pompey again, failing to make the next five squads before returning prematurely to Loftus Road.

Curiously, he made his Premier League debut weeks later, appearing as an 85th-minute substitute in QPR’s 5-1 defeat at Leicester City in May 2015.

He would go on to feature nine times for Rangers, including three Premier League starts, while there was a loan spell at Leyton Orient.

In August 2016, Kpekawa was sold to Barnsley for £450,000, making seven appearances for the Championship club in 2016-17, before moving to Colchester for a second time the following summer.

After that he had spells at St Mirren, Billericay, Slovakian club AS Trencin, Chelmsford, Hemel Hempstead, Maidenhead, Bromley, Oxford City and Kidderminster.

Now, at the age of 28, he’s looking for his latest club following a Bromley release.