Man City confirm signing of record-breaking England youth winger Jeremy Monga from Leicester City | OneFootball

Manchester City have completed the signing of highly-rated England youth international winger Jeremy Monga from Leicester City on a five-year contract.

Monga turned 17 on Friday, the day before signing for Manchester City – and the timing of his arrival speaks to the urgency with which director of football Hugo Viana and the club’s recruitment team moved to secure one of the most coveted young wingers in English football before rival clubs could intervene.

The youngster began his academy career at Leicester City at the U9 level, developing through every age group at the King Power Stadium before his rapid progression accelerated to a remarkable degree in his mid-teenage years, with his pace, dribbling, power and eye for goal drawing attention from across the Premier League.

At just 15 years old, Monga broke into Leicester’s U21s – an extraordinary feat in itself – and on 15 years, three months and 22 days, he became the youngest Premier League 2 goalscorer in history when he found the net against Aston Villa in November 2024.

His ascent into senior football followed swiftly, with Monga appearing as a substitute in Leicester’s 3-0 defeat to Newcastle United in April 2025 to become the second-youngest player to receive minutes in the Premier League, before going on to total seven top-flight appearances across 2024-25.

Monga and Viana react as City land England youth’s most exciting prospect

The 2025-26 campaign brought further history, with Monga named in Leicester’s starting XI for their Carabao Cup draw against Huddersfield Town in August 2025, becoming the youngest player ever to start a game for the Foxes – a record that lasted only days before he surpassed it entirely.

Shortly afterwards, Monga netted in Leicester’s 2-1 Championship defeat to Preston to become the youngest goalscorer in Championship history at 16 years and 37 days old, breaking the record previously held by Jude Bellingham – a comparison that gives a vivid sense of the company Monga is now keeping in the record books at such a young age.

Speaking to official Manchester City media following the announcement, Monga said: “When I became aware that Manchester City were interested, I knew instantly this was the right choice for me. For any young footballer, to become part of this amazing club is a dream come true.”

“This has been the best club in England over the past 10 years. And it has also handed opportunities to players from the Academy like Phil Foden and Nico O’Reilly which shows that the pathway is there. It is a privilege to be here and I’m delighted to have joined.”

Viana: We feel Jeremy is only going to continue to improve

Viana added: “Jeremy is an exciting player who has already made huge strides in his young career. We were already very aware of him as a Club and we have seen his ability first-hand from his time at Leicester.

“At 17-years-old we feel he is only going to continue to improve and that this is the correct next step in his career. We look forward to supporting him on every step in his journey.”

The signing of Monga fits the same template as Viana’s broader approach to young talent this summer – identifying players at the very earliest point of their senior development and securing their futures at the Etihad Stadium before they become too expensive or too sought-after for the club to compete for their signature.

What is the wider context of Monga’s Man City move?

Monga’s record-breaking Championship goal came at younger than Bellingham managed it, at an age when most players are still navigating youth football – and that context makes his arrival at the City Football Academy one of the more genuinely exciting pieces of business Manchester City have conducted this summer, irrespective of the immediate demands of the first-team rebuild underway around him.

Whether Monga goes directly into the senior setup, joins the EDS, or follows the loan pathway that has shaped the development of several recent City signings of a similar profile will become clearer in the weeks ahead, but the arrival of a player who broke Bellingham’s name into a sentence before his 17th birthday represents one of the most compelling young signings the club have made in years.