The 18-year-old attacking midfielder has scored two goals and set up three more in his four Championship starts, but Manchester City loanee Divine Mukasa knows his responsibility goes far beyond that
leicestermercury
Jordan Blackwell
17:25, 05 Mar 2026
Divine Mukasa has scored two goals and provided three assists in his four league starts for Leicester City so far
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Divine Mukasa has scored two goals and provided three assists in his four league starts for Leicester City so far(Image: Jess Hornby/Getty Images)
Divine Mukasa arrived at Leicester City having never started a senior league match, and so expecting the 18-year-old to be the club’s saviour may be unreasonable.
After all, he is at the King Power Stadium on loan, with the aim of getting minutes and improving his game so that he is better prepared to flourish at Manchester City. Leicester’s relegation fate will have little bearing on his career.
But, he really could be the difference-maker between survival and a fall into League One. Firstly, because of what he’s already delivering on the pitch.
In his four league starts, the attacking midfielder has scored two goals and set up three more. There’s only been one goal scored in that period that he did not have a direct involvement in.
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But it’s more than that. Despite being a teenager, and despite coming into a group where he only knew one player previously – Jeremy Monga, through England camps – he says he has a duty to lift a squad that may have been beaten down by a series of bad results.
Mukasa knows he has not had the same mental toil as many of his new team-mates, and so it’s on his shoulders, and those of City’s other January arrivals, to ensure the mood does not drop.
Comparing life at Man City to life at his temporary home, Mukasa told Leicestershire Live: “It’s a different challenge because it’s easy to be motivated when you’re winning games. In these sorts of situations you’re really challenged to see who’s willing to fight.
“For me, I’ve got my own motivations over what I want to get out of not only the loan but my career so it’s more getting the group together and on board with the same thing. The energy of the team being good is important because you need that to get results.
“It’s more difficult for the guys that have been going through this for longer periods of the season, probably mentally.
“Me and the other lads who have come in have brought a good energy and that’s what we’re trying to do, to lift everyone else.
“We’ve not experienced this all season. We’ve got fresher minds, so it’s our responsibility to try to lift everyone else.”
Mukasa can also lift his City team-mates with his creativity, by fashioning chances for them to get confidence-boosting goals.
He’s set up three so far, switching play for Abdul Fatawu against Southampton, back-heeling to Harry Winks for his strike at Stoke, and swinging in the free-kick for Caleb Okoli’s header at Middlesbrough.
Gary Rowett with Devine Mukasa
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Gary Rowett's first game in charge of Leicester City ended in a 2-2 draw at Stoke City(Image: Getty Images)
He could have more assists too. He laid on brilliant opportunities for Stephy Mavididi, Joe Aribo and Luke Thomas in a frantic finish to a man-of-the-match performance at the Bet365 Stadium.
Those moments have contributed to a player who has been a thrill to watch, one whose two-footedness and close control sees him profit in even the tiniest of pockets.
“(Learning to play with both feet) wasn’t through my clubs,” he says. “I don’t think they pushed that at all. Since I started playing, my dad always got me to use both feet, so I guess I learned that way.
“It means you’re comfortable regardless of where the ball lies, it means you can go either way.
“At the minute, I’m working on dealing with the ball myself. A lot of the time (at Man City) I would be used to setting the ball off, but you’ve got to deal with the ball yourself a lot more in the Championship, so I’m working on that.”
Now he just needs to taste victory. For all the good work Mukasa has done since his arrival, he’s not yet been on a winning side. He’ll have another opportunity in this weekend’s trip to Ipswich.
He says: “As soon as we get going and get three points… We’re playing well in a lot of these games and feeling like we should win, so once we get that first win, we’ll have the belief to get more and more.
“That’s the clear goal, to stay up. I just have to do whatever I can to make that happen.”
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