Divin Mubama left West Ham United to join Manchester City in the summer.
When Divin Mubama came through the ranks at West Ham, he was very highly rated indeed.
It first came to light in May of last year that Divin Mubama would leave West Ham.
He was coming to the end of his contract with the Hammers, and wasn’t prepared to stay at the London Stadium for the wages that were offered to him.
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Manchester weren’t originally credited with an interest in signing Divin Mubama, but he ended up moving to The Etihad eventually to work under Pep Guardiola.
Many Hammers fans were disappointed when the 20-year-old striker left, but the reason for his actual move may well put to bed any fears of him reaching the very top.
West Ham fans won’t believe reason why Man City signed Divin Mubama
Since moving to City, Mubama has played eight games for their under-21s, and he has scored eight goals.
A very good record indeed – and he’s scored one goal in two games for the senior team as well.
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However, some context is needed. That goal did come during an 8-0 win over League Two side Salford City.
There are real question marks regarding whether the young forward is good enough to make it at the very highest level of the game.
And now it has become clear what Pep Guardiola actually thought of Mubama.
Photo by Julian Finney - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
Photo by Julian Finney – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
According to The Athletic, the only reason why Man City actually signed the 20-year-old from the Hammers was because they need a striker to play for the youth team.
“Divin Mubama was signed last summer specifically for the EDS (Elite Development Squad), because they did not have any No 9s. It was not like they signed him with a view to the first team.“
Now, he may well continue to improve and make it at the highest level one day. The truth of the matter is that very few young players do come through academies and reach the top tier.
For every Declan Rice there has been a Jeremy Ngakia.
Divin Mubama once shared why West Ham fans surprised him
Mubama was actually a hugely popular figure at the London Stadium when he was coming through the ranks.
He seemingly had a great attitude, and that’s why the Hammers fans loved him.
However, that obviously all changed when he left to join Man City for a bigger contract offer.
And Mubama opened up on something that shocked him about the West Ham fans after we won the 2023 Europa Conference League final:
“Celebrations like that make you want to push on. Not just now, but in my career, you just want to push on for as many trophies as you can and for moments that you’ll never forget. It did surprise me how many West Ham fans were there. I could see some of my friends when the bus was going around East London. It was mad. Everything happened so quickly, and I just want more and more. That’s the nature of football. It goes so quickly that I think it’s only at the end of your career you get to look back and reflect.”
It’s a shame that Divin Mubama didn’t realise how much that kind of support from the West Ham fans was worth, because he will most likely never experience that at Manchester City.