Jeremy Monga: The wonderkid winger who Leicester are fighting to keep out of Chelsea, Man City & Real Madrid's clutches

Still only 15 years old, suffice to say Monga's rise has been rapid. Born in Coventry in July 2009, he began his football journey at his hometown club before being poached by local rivals Leicester City aged just eight.

Clearly earmarked for his elite potential from a very young age, at 14 Monga was already getting minutes with the Foxes' Under-18s in the 2023-24 season and was part of the team that triumphed in the U16 Premier League Cup at Man City's expense.

Running his peers ragged, a fast start to 2024-25 - including four goal involvements in three games - propelled the teenager into the U21s and subsequently consideration for the first team. His strike against Aston Villa's development squad in early November 2024 saw him become the youngest goal-scorer in the history of the Premier League 2.

Ruud van Nistelrooy's appointment later the same month set Monga on course for a first-team debut. "The first thing I did [when I arrived] here was look at the Under-21s, at the Under-18s, getting them into first-team training and seeing them," the Dutchman said previously. "When players are good enough the age doesn't matter to me, and they can help the team."

Although the teenager had only been able to train once or twice a week as he continued to attend school in preparation for his GCSEs, he was included in Leicester's squad for the FA Cup fourth-round defeat to Manchester United in February before being handed his Premier League debut two months later - emerging off the bench against Newcastle aged 15 years and 271 days to become the second-youngest player in the competition's history after Arsenal's Ethan Nwaneri.

Such is his youth, he wasn't even allowed to wear the club's gambling sponsor on his shirt per league rules. Despite his side already being 3-0 down, Monga was greeted by a huge roar - a reflection of the excitement his emergence at the East Midlands club has generated.

"Today, we felt it was the moment to bring him on, to let him have his debut," Van Nistelrooy said afterwards. "You could see glimpses of his great qualities. He's a great winger and has speed. He's a fantastic talent, a great boy."

Reflecting on that moment in a club interview, Monga said: "It was crazy. It was a crazy experience. At first, obviously I was nervous and then when I got onto the pitch all the nerves went away. I just had to switch on. I feel like I done alright, could have done better. Obviously, always room for improvement."

True to his word, Van Nistelrooy continued to afford the young winger minutes in the remainder of the season, with Monga's thrilling cameos a thin silver lining after Leicester's relegation was confirmed by a defeat to Liverpool later in April.

The 15-year-old featured in each of the Foxes' final six games of their doomed Premier League campaign, suggesting he will be a firm part of the first-team picture going forward despite the uncertainty surrounding the current head coach's future, after the former Manchester United striker failed to arrest a long slide towards the Championship trapdoor.

Monga almost bagged a dream first senior goal in the form of a late winner in the 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest in May, but his curling long-range strike was just about palmed away by Matz Sels.

With the season now over, though, Monga's mind will now be on the classroom rather than the football pitch as he attempts to focus on his GCSEs against he backdrop of his career really taking off. At international level, the teen is actually still playing in his age grade, but with seven goal contributions in nine games since his England U16 debut in August, it feels like a matter of time before he is bumped up.

Monga's most significant attribute is undoubtedly his dribbling ability. The winger combines lightning-quick feet and intelligent decision-making with upper-body strength that belies his tender age to leave defenders in his wake.

At just 15, YouTube is already littered with clips of the precocious youngster breezing past his marker and turning full-backs inside-out with footwork and body feints. Monga is also two-footed, meaning he's versatile enough to play on either flank or as a No.10 behind the striker if required.

But he isn't just an elite ball-carrier - he boasts end product, too. The teenager has already demonstrated in his budding career that he can produce in the final third, ending 2024-25 with 10 goal involvements in 28 appearances at club level, not counting the seven he racked up for his country.

Beyond that, he is clearly grounded. After his Premier League bow, his deputy head teacher at Ratcliffe College in Leicester, James Rainer, said: "Jeremy’s debut is an incredibly proud moment for all of us at Ratcliffe. Jeremy’s humility makes this achievement all the more deserved."

Going forward, it's difficult to fault Monga at this stage; he will continue to develop both technically and physically and looks set to become one of the most dangerous wide players England has produced for some time.

However, his defensive contributions have been called into question. Following the U21s' 5-3 Premier League 2 playoff defeat to Southampton in April, Leicestershire Live wrote: "When Monga was withdrawn on the hour mark, it was 2-0 to the Saints. It had been a relatively even game to that point in terms of the balance of chances, but most of Southampton’s opportunities came from City’s right.

"That was where Monga was stationed. It perhaps didn’t help him that he had an attacking right-back in Jayden Joseph behind him, but neither did he give him much help. Monga would press in the Saints half, but once the attack had bypassed him, there was very little effort to get back and help out, a half-jog at most."

Of course, defending will not be his main duty nor his top priority, but as the 15-year-old matures he will be expected to improve that aspect of his game and become more rounded. He certainly seems like someone who will put in the work.

Monga has the potential to be the apex modern winger, taking cues from some of the best around and combining those attributes to be as destructive as possible from the wide areas.

You would arguably struggle to compare him to any one modern star, but he is perhaps most similar to two Crystal Palace favourites - one past and one present - if you combined their unique skillsets. The schoolboy's ability to outwit defenders, ghost past them AND produce when it matters could be likened to Michael Olise's playing style, while he shares Eberechi Eze's confidence, upper-body strength and poise on the ball.

There is a certain nonchalance and languidness to his movement, too, that feels familiar in the same way. Both Olise and Eze, of course, also share Monga's ability to play on either flank or in the No.10 role. Monga will be some player if he can get to their level.

Despite being scouted by the likes of Chelsea, Man City and Real Madrid while being linked with Barcelona, with his current terms due to expire at the end of June, it seems Monga's immediate future still lies at Leicester; Van Nistelrooy confirmed the end of the Premier League season that the winger is among a clutch of youth players who are set to renew terms with the Foxes.

Speaking in May, after Monga had almost scored a late winner against Forest, the Dutchman said: "We want a future with him and hoping we can announce a contract with him soon. If he can stay and this is his future, and he can make minutes and build him into his pathway.

"I have had many conversations with him and his family and hopefully he can sign soon. But it is up to him. It is a joy to work with him. We sometimes talk about his GCSEs and mathematics, and I have to help him with that also, but then we talk about football also. He nearly scored a winner here also. That would have been a fairy tale."

It has been reported that the 15-year-old will sign a scholarship contract as he transitions from academy-level to senior football, after which he will either agree professional terms with Leicester once he turns 17 in 2026 or potentially choose to move on - although there will still be the threat of him being poached for a compensation fee in the meantime.

Asked recently what his immediate ambitions are in an in-house interview, the teenager said: "Trying to get a start. Trying to get some goals. Just bring what I bring to the table." Wherever he ends up, he is on a trajectory to the top.