Joel Ndala: The latest gem from Man City's academy who has already taken one World Cup by storm

Ndala did a lot of moving around as a child. He was born in Manchester, but soon after he arrived into the world, his family, who have heritage from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, moved to France. They returned to the UK when Ndala was seven, moving to Stoke, and he was picked up by Port Vale at the age of eight after a member of staff was given a tip off by Ndala's PE teacher.

"From the first moment you could tell he was something special,” Vale academy coach Callum Rollings told The Guardian. “It doesn’t happen much – he was spotted playing in the playground and the teacher gave us a call. He just had this belief in his own ability, even though he was such a young lad. Joel’s the best I’ve ever seen at that age. It was always like he was still playing in the playground.

“He was just unbelievable – in his own age group he stood out like a sore thumb. We did try to hide him a little bit, but the main thing was that he wasn’t being tested, and that’s why he went up two years. There was always a lot of interest around him.”

Word soon spread, and Ndala was the subject of interest from Liverpool and Aston Villa. But City eventually agreed a deal with Port Vale to sign Ndala in 2017, paying a reported £300,000 ($383,000) for the then-11-year-old.

At the age of just 15, Ndala was promoted to City's U18s side, the youngest-ever player to do so. He held his own, too, scoring 10 goals in his first season, while also making his debut in the UEFA Youth League with the U19s. In July 2022, shortly after his 16th birthday, he signed a professional contract with the Cityzens.

Ndala produced a stunning cameo off the bench in a Youth League match against Borussia Dortmund, using his quick feet to win a penalty that was converted by current first-teamer Oscar Bobb. Ndala then proceeded to win the game, getting a feint touch to a ball over the top before following up on the rebound.

Ndala featured regularly again in City's most recent Youth League campaign, where they reached the last-16, only to be knocked out by Mainz. And he has begun to make headlines at international level after lighting up the U17 World Cup.

He provided two assists in England's 10-0 hammering of New Caledonia, struck a last-minute winner to beat Iran 2-1, and scored a penalty in the defeat by Brazil. Ndala was also on the scoresheet in the shock 2-1 defeat by Uzbekistan, the one player to stand out in a desperately disappointing loss for the young Lions.

"In terms of his development, it’s really important that he has a bump in the road, and I’m sure that he will come back stronger,” Rollings said. “Joel was the one bright spark from England’s team at the World Cup who everyone wants to know about now. But I’m sure he will make an even bigger name for himself in the future."

Ndala is a dribbling sensation. He weaves past defenders for fun with his ultra-quick feet, but is also adept at slowing the play down when he needs to and protecting the ball by the byline, before continuing down the wing or cutting inside. He also has frenetic pace, frequently leaving opponents behind him amid a trail of dust.

Ndala is also remarkably adept with both feet, meaning he can play off either wing and is an unpredictable force to defend against, as deadly with his right foot as he is with his left.

The 17-year-old has scored some important goals, but he feels he should score more, as does his coach Brian Barry-Murphy. "What you're seeing with Joel Ndala is he's a high-level wide player, but he's not getting what he feels he deserves in terms of finishing. That can only improve with what he does in training," Barry-Murphy told the Manchester Evening News. "That's the bit which excites us most in terms of what we can do to develop him."

Naturally, Ndala has some work to do physically in order to progress to senior football. He will also need to add variety to his game if he is to get first-team opportunities. Pep Guardiola values players who can play in a number of roles and adapt to new situations in games, so he will need to become more than just a wide forward and improve his capacity to influence matches from the middle.

Ndala's style of play and position have naturally drawn comparisons with City winger Jeremy Doku. He certainly has the pace and panache of the Belgian, but crucially he also has been schooled in the City style of play for six years, unlike Doku, who got his footballing education with Anderlecht before switching to Rennes and later joined the treble-winners last summer.

Away from City, Ndala has certain traits of Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembele, who is also ambidextrous.

Ndala has seen his former U19s team-mates Bobb and Rico Lewis make huge strides into the first team within the last two years, and he will be hopeful of following their footsteps into Guardiola's side, especially after seeing Micah Hamilton and Jacob Wright make their senior debuts this season. A first-team debut is unlikely to come this campaign, though, as City approach the crunch phase of the season with the chance to repeat last year's incredible treble feat.

Equally, he will have noticed that many talented individuals in his position, such as Cole Palmer and Carlos Borges, have had to leave to get first-team football. Ndala should be in no hurry, however, as he is at the perfect club to keep on developing and make sure he has a bright future.