Jeremy Monga is scheduled for a medical at Manchester City today, with the 17-year-old midfielder closing in on a £12.5 million move from Leicester City. The deal includes a sell-on clause, according to multiple reports.
City beat out Manchester United and Premier League champions Arsenal, who were seen as the frontrunners but balked at Leicester’s asking price. That opened the door for former Leicester boss Enzo Maresca to step in and seal the deal.
Monga has been at Leicester since he was eight years old. He’s made 37 first-team appearances and signed a one-year scholarship last year that was set to turn into a professional contract on July 10. Now it looks like he’ll be plying his trade at the other end of the M1 instead.
One of England’s top young prospects
Monga is viewed as one of the country’s elite teenage talents. He’s the third-youngest player ever to appear in a Premier League match, behind only Arsenal teenagers Max Dowman and Ethan Nwaneri. That kind of company says something about how high the ceiling might be.
The transfer would also tie him as the most expensive departure from League One, matching the fee Sheffield United paid Luton Town for Mark McGuinness last summer.
Not everyone thinks a move this big is the right call for a kid who just turned 17. Former Leicester striker Emile Heskey told Grosvenor Sport: “It’s very tough for a young kid when clubs like that come calling. He’s 17 this summer, so that means he is going to be on a second year scholarship. Really, he should be concentrating on that and getting some actual football under his belt.”
City’s academy has been stockpiling young talent aggressively under the current regime, and Monga fits the profile of a player they can develop and either integrate into the first team or flip for a profit down the line. Whether he gets that “actual football” Heskey mentioned remains to be seen. But the money is already moving, and the medical is the next box to check.
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