Manchester City youngster ends 14-year Etihad Stadium stay with Turkey transfer | OneFootball

Jadel Katongo – who has been at Manchester City since Under-nine level – has secured a permanent move to the Turkish top-flight, ending a 14-year association with the club.

The City academy has been incredibly successful in recent years, with a number of players making first-team appearances for Pep Guardiola’s side including the likes of Phil Foden, Rico Lewis, James Trafford and Nico O’Reilly in particular.

This season alone, a whopping eight academy players have graduated into the first team. Divine Mukasa is perhaps most likely of the latest crop to establish himself as a regular starter in future, whilst Steven Mfuni is also incredibly highly rated by coaching staff.

As for Jadel Katongo, he played alongside almost all of the aforementioned players for City’s youth teams and was a key part of the success that those sides had between 2020 and 2023, winning the under-18 Premier League three times and the Premier League 2 twice.

Katongo also played a fair number of games for England across youth levels, beginning within the Three Lions at under-15 level, and most recently playing for the England under-20 side – for whom he won four caps – in 2024.

Unfortunately, the defender never made a competitive first-team appearance for the Cityzens, but has featured in pre-season having travelled to the United States for a tour in 2024, playing the second half of Manchester City’s game against Celtic.

It was before this trip to America that Katongo made his first appearance in men’s football as he spent the 2023/24 season on loan at League One side Peterborough, making 43 appearances in all competitions, scoring twice and making three assists – lifting the EFL Trophy.

Last season was in some ways a repeat of the previous campaign; on loan in Peterborough, and winning the EFL Trophy once again. However, the club assembled an extraordinarily young squad which faltered in the league, and – as a loanee – Katongo was one of the first players to be replaced by a more senior head.

The 21-year-old was unable to secure a move away from the Etihad Stadium in the summer, either on a loan or a permanent basis, and he has played a handful of games in the Premier League 2 this season whilst also sporadically training with the first-team.

But he has since announced his departure from the Etihad Stadium on his personal Instagram account, before confirmation of a transfer to Kayserispor arrived on official media channels shortly afterwards.

If he is able to get regular game time with his new club, this could be a very wise move for Katongo as the Turkish Super Lig maintains a presence of numerous elite-level players in its biggest clubs, and Katongo could showcase his ability against talents before potentially securing a return to England in future.