Sometimes it is a single touch. A feint this way, a move that. A sudden acceleration. It does not take much for coaches to recognise a special talent and at Leicester, they have been very excited about Jeremy Monga for some time.
Monga does not turn 16 until July but he has already been on the bench for the first team for the FA Cup tie at Manchester United in February. He is regarded as one of the best prospects ever to emerge from the Leicester academy and with Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side apparently heading back to the Championship, many fans want to see the young man given his chance now.
When his education allows, Monga trains with Leicester’s first team, often on Thursdays. He was first asked to join the seniors by former Foxes boss Steve Cooper at the start of the season and Mail Sport understands he made an immediate impression.
Where many young players will play it safe and simply try to avoid mistakes during these sessions, Monga expressed himself. A right-footed left winger who can also operate in other attacking roles, Monga would seek to take on his full-back and take risks – just as he would in Leicester’s junior ranks. He was confident around his elder colleagues and conducted himself as though he belonged.
Leicester’s academy has Category One status, ensuring it attracts high-level players and competition for spots once there is fierce. Those who watch academy football closely believe Leicester have plenty of players who will have professional careers.
In a system like that, it is difficult enough for a 15-year-old to be selected for the Under-18 side, let alone the Under-21s. Not only has Monga forced his way into the Under-21s, he already has two goals and two assists in Premier League 2, the top flight competition for developing players.
Jeremy Monga is regarded as one of the best stars to emerge from Leicester’s academy
The teenager was on the bench for the first team for the FA Cup tie at Man United in February
Now for the difficult part. When a player as gifted as Monga, an England Under-16 international, takes his first steps at a club, it does not take long for word to circulate. Mail Sport understands Manchester City have been following him closely for some time, while Chelsea, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain have been moving in the background. As long ago as last summer, Leicester were fearful that their jewel might be taken from them before he could become a first-team regular.
Players cannot sign a professional contract before they turn 17, and Monga will not reach that age until July 2026. Offers can, however, be made some time before that. If an Under-16 player wishes to move elsewhere, he must inform his club and the league in writing by no later than the first Saturday in June.
Though rival clubs rarely make direct approaches in these cases, it is not difficult to ensure the target becomes aware of their interest: a discreet word in the right ear here, a quick conversation with an influential person there.
Then there are the more brazen efforts. The trials, the invitations to Champions League matches for all the family, the tours of the training facilities and opportunities to meet the stars of the first-team squad. Not to mention the contract and salary on offer – once again, there are many ways to make sure those details find their way to the player and his family, without fingerprints.
When a gifted youngster leaves a mid-ranking club for a wealthier, more successful one, the blame game from supporters on social media is inevitable. The player or his family are ‘greedy’; the club are incompetent or unambitious for failing to keep him.
Yet consider both sides. Which teenage footballer would not be tempted by a Champions League club? Which family would not consider financial offers that could change their lives?
Similarly, is it really the fault of clubs at Leicester’s level if they cannot always hang on to their best prospects when the elite are in the market, and with the rules as they are? Both at senior and junior level, the best players are attracted by the best clubs and those clubs will do everything in their power to ensure those wishes come true.
Not that this is a guarantee of success. ‘There are so many touch points for academy players,’ an experienced youth coach told Mail Sport. ‘There is football, school, their family, their friends. Then from a young age they are trying to get international recognition – that has a big effect on their confidence.
Monga, pictured against France this month, has been at star within England’s Under-16 side
‘The ones with the best chance of making it are the ones who are able to keep their lives very simple. Focus on school, focus on football. There are so many distractions at that age.’
When they are trying to keep a coveted academy player, clubs end up treading on eggshells. Mail Sport has learned of academy coaches who are reprimanded by senior officials for giving these starlets a rollicking if they perform poorly or lack application. ‘Whatever you do, don’t upset them, or we’ll have no chance of keeping them,’ runs the general message. If the rest of the squad see certain players receiving preferential treatment, it can cause widespread resentment.
For their part, Leicester want to avoid a repeat of Trey Nyoni’s move to Liverpool in September 2023.
Like Monga, Nyoni was one of the best talents in the Leicester academy but was persuaded to move to Anfield aged 16. Now 17, he has made 15 senior appearances for the Reds, with the compensation package due to Leicester still to be determined by a tribunal.
‘Jeremy is a great talent that for me is a vital part of the future of this club,” Van Nistelrooy said in January. “We’re looking to start conversations to keep him at the club. It’s important for me that that can work out. We’re planning that.
“We’re looking at his development, where he is now. He’s 15, he’s still in school, only on Thursdays is he available for training with us. So in that perspective, we have to see what’s best for him, and the pathway to the first team and senior football.
‘We are presenting to him our thoughts and my thoughts on him. I think very highly of him and want him to be part of the long-term future of this club.
‘(His talent’s been noticed) by the whole world. That’s why we have him with the first team where possible. That’s why conversations with him and his family will start soon.
Leicester want to avoid a repeat of Trey Nyoni’s move to Liverpool in September 2023
Nyoni was one of the best talents in the Leicester academy but moved to Anfield aged 16
‘I will of course be talking with him and his family, presenting him a pathway that we think is best to get him into the first team.’
Clubs like Leicester want players like Monga to become stars of their first team, role models for their peers and heroes for their supporters. Ideally, they will generate tens of millions in transfer revenue one day.
For the top clubs, the calculation is much colder: if one of the youngsters they sign breaks into the first team, brilliant. If a couple more do not quite make it but can be sold for a tidy sum, that’s good too. The reality is, though, that the majority will not meet the required standard and have to rebuild their careers, when they are still very young.
At the age of 15, having to make a decision that may shape a career is pretty tough. For Leicester and Monga, as for the many similar clubs and players across the world in similar situations, the outcome could have a huge impact on the future. For football’s richest, however, the wheels keep on turning, as remorselessly as ever.
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