Leicester City manager Ruud van Nistelrooy warned that the Foxes are “doing absolutely everything” to keep their 15-year-old forward Jeremy Monga at the club in the face of increasing transfer speculation.
Monga doesn’t turn 16 until the summer yet is already a regular for Leicester’s under-21s and in first-team training. While he is still waiting for his senior debut, the teen was included on Leicester’s bench for an FA Cup defeat to Manchester United last month.
Such a staggering rise has attracted interest from Leicester’s Premier League rivals, namely Chelsea and Manchester City. Despite their perilous position in the Premier League table, the Foxes boss was confident that he could convince Monga to turn down approaches from clubs that are not plagued by relegation fears.
“It is part of the plan for him to be part of pre-season and take it from there because we see a player who can have an impact sooner rather than later,” Van Nistelrooy gushed this week. “It’s ongoing, so we are doing absolutely everything we can to keep him here.”
As a 15-year-old still in full-time education, Monga’s involvement in Leicester’s first-team setup is limited. “He’s part of our training set up, as you know, on the days that it’s possible for him within his school program, his games in the under-21s and playing for the national team,” Van Nistelrooy outlined.
“He did very well at the under-16s for England as captain and scored, so we follow his program very closely and within that, he’s training with us.
“The priority is to get him and to keep him at the club and there have been conversations between myself and the club and Jeremy, his agent and his family. We presented him with the plan that we have for him.
“We are limited in his sessions because of school, but it’s about the plan that we have for him. Next season that will change.”
