Manchester City beat Arsenal to sign 17-year-old Jeremy Monga from Leicester
The teenage winger joins on a five-year deal worth around £10m, with new City manager Enzo Maresca, who knows him from Leicester, winning the race for one of England’s brightest young talents ahead of Arsenal.
Jul 12, 2026
Manchester City have won the race for one of English football’s most coveted teenagers, completing the signing of Jeremy Monga from Leicester City on July 11. The 17-year-old winger has signed a five-year contract that runs until 2031, and his reputation has been building since he was 15.
The fee is worth around £10m plus add-ons, a hefty outlay for a player who turned 17 only the day before the deal was confirmed. City moved decisively to beat Arsenal, who had chased Monga for much of the summer but were unwilling to meet Leicester’s asking price. A move to north London had looked the likelier outcome for weeks. Instead City stepped in late and got it done.
A teenager who already holds records
Monga is far from an unknown despite his age. In April 2025 he came off the bench for Leicester against Newcastle United to become the second-youngest player in Premier League history, aged 15 years and 271 days. He went on to score in the Championship as a 16-year-old, captained England at under-16 level and has since pushed into the under-19 group. A left winger with that kind of head start was never going to stay under the radar for long.
The Maresca factor
One name hangs over the move. Enzo Maresca, appointed City manager in June after Pep Guardiola’s decade at the club came to an end, knows Monga from their time together at Leicester, where Maresca won the Championship title in 2023-24. That familiarity clearly counted. Monga said City’s record of promoting young players like Phil Foden and Nico O’Reilly convinced him the route to the first team was genuine rather than a sales pitch.
“When I became aware that Manchester City were interested, I knew instantly this was the right choice for me,” Monga told the club’s website.
What comes next
The question now is how quickly a 17-year-old can push into a City side that is itself in transition. Guardiola’s exit has already brought change, and Maresca arrives with a reputation for trusting younger players. Whether Monga is brought along through the academy and cup ties or handed a chance sooner, City have landed a talent that several of England’s biggest clubs wanted. Seen that way, £10m could look cheap in a couple of seasons.