Manchester City’s teenage starlet Divine Mukasa has the physicality and talent to break into Pep Guardiola’s first-team squad this season, Citizens expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany has told Sports Mole.
The 17-year-old was surprisingly named in City’s 22-man squad for a pre-season friendly against Palermo last weekend and he came on as a substitute to provide an assist in a 3-0 win for the Premier League side.
Mukasa joined Man City from West Ham United in the summer of 2023 and has since excelled in the club’s academy, scoring 16 goals and registering 15 assists in 20 league appearances for the Under-18s last season.
The versatile attacker was named Under-18s Players’ Player of the Season for 2024-25 and he is now hoping to earn first-team minutes under Guardiola in the new campaign.
Asked whether he was surprised to see Mukasa promoted to Man City’s senior squad for the friendly against Palermo, McInerney told Sports Mole: “Yes and no. I was surprised he was there because I didn't know Guardiola would leave so many players behind... and no because I know how talented he is and how he was the best young player in the academy last season.
Manchester City's Divine Mukasa on October 22, 2024
Mukasa could benefit from potential Savinho, Echeverri exits
“I didn't expect him to be involved, but I know he's there on merit and I find it really exciting. He's not a City lad, he hasn't been there since he was eight like Nico O’Reilly, but he's still classified as an academy prospect. He’s played for our Under-18s.
“The first two or three touches from Mukasa (against Palermo) were so composed, so assured. They were out of his feet, little layoff passes, very simple stuff, but you see some young players get a touch and they dawdle a little bit and they might keep the ball.
“Some of them don't do the simple things very well immediately. Even if they potentially go on to be great players, they are often just nervy - none of that at all from Mukasa.”
McInerney has likened Mukasa to former Arsenal and Real Madrid playmaker Mesut Ozil, adding: “There was in a laconic style that’s just so fun to watch, He reminded be a little of Mesut Ozil actually, the way he just gently strolls around the pitch looking for the ball and making things happen. He looks like he belongs (in City’s first team).”
Mukasa’s first-team opportunities could increase next season if Tottenham Hotspur-linked Savinho and Claudio Echeverri - who is expected to head out on loan - both leave Man City this summer.
“If Savinho and Echeverri move on, I think Mukasa could be the beneficiary of that,” said McInerney. “Echeverri is far too highly rated to be getting the Carabao Cup minutes. Obviously there's homegrown issues with the squad, so he wouldn't have been able to get in the Champions League squad as well as an Under-21 player.
“[Getting Carabao Cup minutes is] fine for Mukasa. He’s 17 years old, he wouldn't want more than that. He'd be buzzing with just that, whereas Echeverri wants to play Champions League football as well apparently, never mind just playing for City. He wants to be playing for teams like Roma.
Manchester City's Divine Mukasa on April 2, 2025
‘Mukasa is Mesut Ozil mixed with Kevin De Bruyne stylistically’
McInerney is impressed by Mukasa’s physical presents and his “wand of a left foot”, while his passing range has been stylistically compared to Man City legend Kevin De Bruyne, who departed the club earlier this summer.
“I think Mukasa is in a really good place,” said McInerney. "He’s really talented, he'll be fine to be the 24th, 25th man in the squad. Injuries will happen, so he'll get on the bench every now and then. He will play the Carabao Cup games potentially. Physically he has it like Nico O'Reilly.
“Last season O’Reilly broke through. 6ft 4in, versatile, another left-footer, a talented academy prospect. I think we've had a habit of bringing in through these tiny little creative players at City, but Musaka and O'Reilly are bucking that trend. They are big lads with physicality. Mukasa’s only 17, he's not even grown out yet physically. By 22, he's going be an absolute unit.
“I've seen him for the academy side. For people who don't know much about him, this guy's got a wand of a left foot. I'm not kidding. The best way I can compare him is Mesut Ozil mixed with Kevin De Bruyne stylistically. That sounds absurd, and it doesn't mean he'll get to those levels, but how he plays is ridiculous.
“So, so silky with the dribbling and he can absolutely ping it from distance and play these passes that you associate with someone like De Bruyne, in terms of these reverse passes and the variety of them. He’s a special footballer at academy level and I’m delighted to see him in the first team.”
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