Many at West Ham United always felt that Divin Mubama would make the transition from academy football, and his impressive start to life at Stoke City was certainly a big step in the right direction.
Unfortunately, a West Ham United player he is no longer.
Divin Mubama bid an emotional farewell to the Hammers a year ago, turning down a new contract with his boyhood club before joining Manchester City for a compensation fee of just £2 million.
Those who argued that Mubama was making the wrong choice may have felt justified, too, when it emerged that Manchester City never saw him as a first-team option for the future, either short or long-term.
For now, though, all Divin Mubama can realistically do is seize the opportunity presented to him in the Potteries with both hands.
And as far as EFL experts Ali Maxwell and George Elek are concerned, a dramatic 95th minute header on his Stoke debut is a very exciting sign of things to come.
Former West Ham United starlet Divin Mubama excites George Elek on Stoke City debut
A truly prolific goalscorer at youth level, Mubama moved out on loan for the first time after plundering 34 in just 48 Premier League 2 appearances.
Sixteen of those came in just 14 outings in a Man City shirt last season.
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Now, for obvious reasons, Mubama is unlikely to maintain his greater-than-a-goal-a-game average during his first sustained spell in men’s football. A return of one-in-one wearing the red and white stripes of Stoke, though, bodes very well indeed for the Championship’s perennial underachievers.
“It’s one game, and it’s important not to get carried away, but I am here for Stoke this season,” said Elek, co-host of the Not the Top 20 podcast, after watching Mubama rise highest to guide home a stoppage-time clincher during a thrilling opening weekend victory over Derby County.
“Purely from an excitement perspective.
“I think it was quite striking and interesting that this was Divin Mubama’s debut for Stoke in his first loan, and he was still on the pitch after 90 minutes. That, in itself, is pretty rare for a young player and shows, I think, probably the level of trust [Potters boss Mark] Robins has in him.
“It’s just this core of young, physical, exciting talent with this mesh of physicality and creativity and pace. We’ve been here before with Stoke, of course [but] it’s just a fun young team.
“Will it translate to being a really good side with lots of points? I don’t know, but I think we are going to see a lot of fun games with a lot of fun goals.”
Ali Maxwell ‘excited’ by Manchester City loanee’s Championship impact
Stoke have not even finished above 14th in their seven seasons since relegation from the Premier League. Could Mubama lead a long-awaited charge towards the play-offs?
Fittingly, given the pronunciation of his first name, that Derby header was a moment of ‘Divin’ intervention.
A header Alan Shearer or Les Ferdinand would be proud to add to their own collection, though Mubama needed his older teammates to bail him out a few days later during a tense penalty shoot-out victory over Walsall in the Carabao Cup first round.
“Something really old-school, kind of ‘Premier League Years’, 1990s about that header,” Maxwell smiles. “It was just the direction of it; Right into the side netting, right into the corner. The fact he got between two defenders but he showed some strength and hops as well to get up for it.
“This is a guy who, we’ve been told, looks like a proper prospect. We’ve seen plenty of those come down and struggle to make an instant impact, particularly at Championship level.
“I don’t want to get carried away but he made me pretty excited.”
Mubama might never make the grade at Manchester City, while that contentious departure from West Ham a couple of years ago continues to rankle in East London.
But, whatever the future holds, a striker with such a nose for goal will always have fans and pundits alike waiting for the net to bulge.