Jeremy Monga debuts for Manchester City in Seoul friendly after rejecting Arsenal interest
Jeremy Monga made his first appearance for Manchester City when he came off the bench in a pre-season friendly that finished 3-1 against a K-League XI at Seoul World Cup Stadium, as reported on 5 August 2026. The 17-year-old, who joined City from Leicester for £10m, played for half an hour in sweltering conditions during the warm-weather fixture.
Monga’s transfer from Leicester to Manchester City attracted little fanfare this summer despite the fee, but he arrives as one of English football’s most highly rated teenagers and is already the third-youngest player to have appeared in the Premier League. City are managed by former Foxes boss Enzo Maresca, and the teenager revealed he had been close to joining reigning champions Arsenal before City completed the move.
In Seoul, City took a 3-0 lead inside 23 minutes with Rayan Ait-Nouri, Tijjani Reijnders and Divin Mubama all on the scoresheet, before finishing 3-1. Monga, introduced from the bench, displayed sharp movement and came close to scoring when a close-range effort was ruled out for handball and a curling attempt was pushed away by the goalkeeper.
Monga made his top-flight debut aged 15 years and 271 days in Leicester’s defeat by Newcastle United on 7 April, a campaign that ended with the Foxes relegated to the Championship. The 2015-16 Premier League winners then dropped into League One after a calamitous season last term, and Monga featured 30 times for Leicester in the most recent season.
Reflecting on his development at Leicester, Monga said he took "positives" from his time at King Power Stadium because the club "gave me the foundation and stepping stone" at the start of his career. The England Under-19 international described the Championship as a "tough league", saying defenders gave him "less time and [less] respect" than in the Premier League and adding: "It's a dog-eat-dog world in the Championship."
On the transfer saga with Arsenal, Monga told BBC Sport: "It [Arsenal interest] was very strong because it was very close to me going there, very close." He explained the decisive factors behind his move to City: "The main decision was probably the pathway and the club itself. They've been so successful that it was a no-brainer when City call. It's every child's dream to win trophies and be at the top with the best."
A boyhood Chelsea supporter, Monga cites former Belgium international Eden Hazard as his idol and has studied the winger's game; Hazard won the Premier League and La Liga twice, the Champions League in 2022, and was named PFA players' player of the year and FWA footballer of the year in 2014–15. Asked what he admired most, Monga said: "Definitely his directness, him taking the game by the scruff of his neck trying to win the game by himself and definitely the way he manipulates the ball, trying to implement that into my game. Even the way he protects the ball from his opponents and moves around the pitch, everything is what I want to do." When asked which Hazard moments stood out, he replied: "His [solo] goal against Tottenham - or the goal against Liverpool. When you see the goal, you remember it."
On his outlook at Manchester City, Monga said: "Once I get the opportunity I just need to show myself, and once I do that, everything will take care of itself. I feel like, to me personally, I see myself at City more. I see myself in blue."
