Manchester City's youth academy is one of the most productive talent factories in the world, although the reality is the vast majority of graduates end up having to seek their fortune away from the Etihad Stadium. Phil Foden is the pride and joy of City's youth system, but for many years he was the exception that proved the rule.
Exceptionally talented players like Cole Palmer have chosen to leave City in search of regular first-team football while the likes of Romeo Lavia, Jeremie Frimpong, Jadon Sancho, Morgan Rogers and Michael Olise departed without ever appearing for the senior side.
But in the last couple of years, a pathway – albeit a very narrow one – has opened up from the academy and into Pep Guardiola's squad. Rico Lewis is into his fourth season in the first-team ranks while Nico O'Reilly has established himself as a regular less than a year after making his competitive debut and recently signed a bumper new contract with the club and earned his first England call-up.
Now, another player, Divine Mukasa, is slowly forcing his way into Guardiola's plans after being fast-tracked into the team just one month after his 18th birthday. GOAL has everything you need to know about the creative midfielder who doing all he can to earn the coach's trust…
Where it all began
Mukasa was born in London to a Lithuanian mother and a father from Uganda. He enrolled in West Ham's academy when he was five years old and spent a decade there, forming part of an exciting generation of players who won the Under-18 Premier League South and FA Youth Cup double. Aged just 15 at the time, Mukasa scored in the title-clinching win over Arsenal befor the Hammers then outclassed the Gunners 5-1 in the Youth Cup final at the Emirates Stadium, although Mukasa was an unused substitute that day.
After lifting the league title, Mukasa said: "We are a relentless team, and we will never sit off. We will always try to win, and we will always try to score goals. We have won the title today, but we are not finished yet."
Mukasa, however, was about to finish his journey with the Irons. He spoke to Rangers and Newcastle that summer, but eventually decided to join City, one month after turning 16. He won his second FA Youth Cup in his first season, this time starting in the final as City rolled over Leeds United 4-0.
However, it was not the smoothest of transitions, as he admitted to the : "The first six months were tough, especially with City playing such a different way and the high standards from the club. "t wasn't just me getting used to the club, it was the staff getting used to me, what my attributes are, trying to help me optimise them. It was a little bit tough, getting used to the system and adjusting it a little bit has helped as well.
"It was that sense of freedom that I had at my previous club. I didn't get it at first, but that's natural. The coaches are used to having a set structure so I can't just come in and change that. It took some getting used to."
AdvertisementGetty The big break
Mukasa began to settle more in his second season at City as he started more often and took more responsibility. Fans subsequently began to sit up and take notice of him after he netted a hat-trick in a 7-1 trouncing of Newcastle in December 2024.
The first goal in particular was impossible to ignore as Mukasa scored directly from kick-off. Newcastle had just given themselves a bit of hope by making the score 4-1, but Mukasa brought them right back down to earth with a single kick, leaving his opponents dumbstruck as he lobbed the ball downfield and high into the net.
It wasn't the only demonstration of his innovation that day, as he scored his next goal by glancing the ball into the net with his chest. Mukasa's treble against the Magpies contributed to him ending the season with 17 goals and 25 assists in 37 age-group games, and his excellent campaign vindicated the youth team coaches' decision to keep him in the U18s for the majority of the season rather than promote him full-time to the U21s.
"I was expected to dominate a bit more this season, help lead the team," he explained. "I think I've done that, It's been a good season. For my own confidence and relationship I've built with the managers, playing all the time has helped me a lot."
Getty How it's going
Mukasa was earmarked for the U21s this season, but he has effectively jumped up a level and gained first-team experience. He got the call to join Guardiola's side for their only pre-season friendly of the summer against Palermo and impressed in his short cameo, assisting Tijjani Reijnders' second goal in the 3-0 win with a classy flick.
He continued to train regularly with the first team and featured on the bench for the Premier League games against Manchester United, Arsenal and Burnley, as well as Champions League clashes with Napoli and Monaco. Mukasa eventually made his competitive debut when he started City's Carabao Cup third round tie at Huddersfield Town in September.
He produced an impressive performance, too, as Mukasa filled the centre-forward role usually reserved for Erling Haaland. He had never played up front before and revealed that Guardiola had told him to operate more as a false nine. In doing so, Mukasa laid the ball off for Phil Foden to score the first goal and led the line admirably as City walked all over their League One opponents.
"Divine played unbelievable, he’s an incredibly top player in the pockets, he had two or three chances to score," gushed Guardiola. "Divine is top, top. He has a sense of touch, quality with the ball, and he fought a lot. He played really well."
Getty Biggest strengths
While his strike rate is impressive, particularly for a midfielder, Mukasa's greatest quality is his technique, which makes him a brilliant dribbler as well as someone who can play line-splitting passes under pressure.
"He is so brilliant on the ball. What he can do with the ball sometimes is unbelievable," City's U18 coach Oliver Reiss said. "It looks sometimes too easy for him, because of his quality. He's good with both feet, normally he's left-footed but then delivers to the corner with his right foot. So no problem, the way he's thinking, what he sees, it's incredible for me."
'Confidence' is another word that crops up a lot in discussions around Mukasa, and it's easy to see why. You do not score from a kick-off if you are lacking in self-belief, after all!