Manchester City signed teenage defender Juma Bah in January - who has packed more drama into the last four years than most do in their whole careers.
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Omar Marmoush of Egypt battles for possession with Abdulay Juma Bah of Sierra Leone during the FIFA World Cup Qualification CAF Group A match between Egypt and Sierra Leone at Cairo International Stadium in Cairo, Egypt, on March 25, 2025. (Photo by Ayman Aref/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Juma Bah (right) made his international debut this month after joining Manchester City in January.
It was a transfer that caused anger, accusations and threats of lawsuits. And at the end of it, Manchester City got another centre-back.
As City spent £63m on Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis in January, they also added teenager Juma Bah to their collection, immediately sending him out on loan to RC Lens - effectively acting as their Khusanov replacement until the end of the season.
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City will watch the youngster carefully, with mixed reviews already in France, before making an assessment in the summer over his path for next season. The early signs are that they have a competitive and confident defender on their books, not afraid to stand up for himself on and off the pitch.
Bah made his international debut for Sierra Leone this week, keeping fellow January arrival at City, Omar Marmoush, off the scoresheet against Egypt, as well as Mo Salah. If City coaches or analysts were watching Marmoush, they will have had a good look at the defender trying to stop him.
It was the latest in a rapid rise for Bah, who was playing for his local town club just four years ago before a move to AIK Freetong. A switch to Freetonians in the Sierra Leone top flight followed under a year later as a 16-year-old, where he was named captain in his second season according to the BBC.
A trial at AIK in Sweden was next before a switch to La Liga with Real Valladolid - and that is where things started to get messy.
"I have never been in such an absurd, unreal and senseless situation as the one I am experiencing now," his agent said after his City transfer and Lens loan were completed, claiming Bah joined Valladolid on a loan with an option to buy in the summer before that was officially made permanent in January.
By that time, Bah had alerted the attention of bigger clubs - as well as impressing in La Liga. Valladolid wanted to keep him as he was clearly a sellable asset, but Bah would instead terminate his own contract as per La Liga protocol for just £5m. Spanish rules mean players must individually pay their release clauses before being reimbursed by the buying club.
That sparked fury in Valladolid, who accused City directly of encouraging Bah to terminate his deal, threatening legal action in an extraordinary public statement.
Bah, however, has since told the BBC that he took the decision without any pressure from any person or club. "I am the one who did that to terminate my contract," he said.
"They [Valladolid] didn't care about me. They didn't speak to my agent about giving me a new contract. They didn't even call me to speak. They didn't want me to leave because there were a lot of clubs that came to sign me."
His agent, Patrick Mork, wrote on Instagram that Valladolid agreed to the release clause and had notified the club of 'several offers' for Bah before the transfer window. He also denied Valladolid claims that Bah rejected an improved contract before terminating his deal.
He added: "One of these clubs showed special interest in Juma and, after attempting a friendly negotiation, decided voluntarily, consciously and analysing the situation as a whole, to pay the price of the release clause to release the player from his contract with Real Valladolid and proceed with his signing."
For Bah's part, he is only looking forward. "It would be a dream for me to play with these great players at Manchester City," he told BBC Sport Africa.
"I usually play with them on PlayStation. Playing with them in real life will be amazing. I'm looking forward to go there and learn, and to have the best coach in the world. My aim is to win trophies."
One local newspaper called him 'disoriented and at fault' for a goal on an early Lens appearance while acknowledging that Lens would prefer to have had more time to 'integrate him tactically' through friendlies but that isn't possible in the middle of a season. Since then, he has started their last two games in a back three, keeping two clean sheets and earning his international call.
Juma BAH of Lens during the Ligue 1 McDonald's match between Lens and Rennes at Stade Bollaert-Delelis on March 15, 2025 in Lens, France. (Photo by Daniel Derajinski/Icon Sport via Getty Images)
Bah has impressed in his last two games for Lens after a shaky start off the bench.
"I knew something big was going to happen and he was just waiting for his opportunity," Sierra Leone boss Mohamed Kallon said. "He can succeed in Europe. Manchester City bought him because they see something in him. We can see that he has potential to grow."
From 4am shifts as a boy in the family bakery to a rapid rise to the Sierra Leone Premier League as a teenager, Bah has gone from his home country to City in six months - via an angry legal disagreement with Valladolid.
Now he's facing Salah on the international stage with fewer than 20 senior appearances to his name in his career. Carry on at this rate and he may get his dream to play with the players he is more familiar with as computer game characters.
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He is certainly one to watch if the last few years are any indication.