Manchester City have agreed a £12.5m deal to sign 17-year-old winger Jeremy Monga from Leicester City, beating Arsenal to one of English football's most coveted young talents.
BBC Sport revealed strong City interest last week, and the move has now been confirmed—leaving Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta frustrated after the Gunners appeared close to completing the signing themselves. Brentford were also in contention before City ultimately won the race.
How the deal came together
Monga had signed a one-year scholarship contract at King Power Stadium set to convert into a professional deal on his 17th birthday this Friday. That timing meant any buying club was required to pay a transfer fee, and City moved decisively to wrap up an agreement with the relegated Foxes, who drop to League One.
The £12.5m outlay is significant for a teenager, though it is not without precedent. Tottenham paid £30m for 18-year-old Archie Gray from Leeds in 2024, Manchester United spent £27m on 18-year-old Luke Shaw from Southampton back in 2013, and Arsenal themselves invested up to £12.5m in 16-year-old Theo Walcott from Southampton in 2006.
City are understood to have held long-standing interest in Monga, but the pursuit accelerated under new manager Enzo Maresca—who coached the teenager directly during his championship-winning season in charge of Leicester.
A teenager already tested at the top level
Monga made history at Leicester last August, becoming the club's youngest-ever starter at 16 years and 34 days when he played in the Carabao Cup first-round loss on penalties to Huddersfield. He went on to make 37 appearances in total for the Foxes, including seven substitute outings in the Premier League.
His top-flight debut came in April 2025, when former Leicester boss Ruud van Nistelrooy sent him on for the final 16 minutes of a 3-0 defeat to Newcastle at St James' Park. That appearance made Monga the third-youngest player to feature in the Premier League, behind only Arsenal's Max Dowman and Ethan Nwaneri.
Reflecting on that moment, Monga said:
