Английн өсвөрийн шигшээ багийн тоглогч Даррен Мотси энэ зуны солилцооны цонхоор Лестер Ситигээс Манчестер Ситид нэгдэх шийдвэр гаргажээ.
Лестер Сити Лиг нэг рүү унасны улмаас санхүүгийн асуудлаа зохицуулах үүднээс олон тоглогчдоо үдэж байгаа бөгөөд тэдний дунд академийн ирээдүйтэй тоглогч 16 настай Даррен Мотси байв. Тэрээр өнгөрсөн улиралд 15 настайдаа Лестер Ситигийн 21 хүртэлх насны багт 15 тоглолтод оролцож, Премьер лиг 2-т 11 тоглолт хийж олны анхааралд өртсөн юм. Манчестер Сити Мотситой сургалтын гэрээ байгуулсан бөгөөд хоёр клуб тоглогчийн шилжилтийн төлбөр дээр тохиролцож чадахгүй бол Премьер лигийн Элит тоглогчийн гүйцэтгэлийн төлөвлөгөөний (EPPP) дагуу асуудлыг шийдвэрлэхээр болжээ.
Даррен Мотси дөрөвдүгээр сард Майамид болсон Вертекс цомын тэмцээнд Английн 16 хүртэлх насны шигшээ багийн бүрэлдэхүүнд багтаж, Мексикийн эсрэг тоглолтод гоол оруулж, нэг оновчтой дамжуулалт өгөн 5-1-ийн харьцаатай ялалт байгуулахад гол үүрэг гүйцэтгэсэн. Зүүн хөлийн онцгой чадвартай, жижиг биетэй ч хурдтай, бөмбөгтэй үедээ шийдвэр гаргах чадвар өндөр түүнийг Манчестер Ситигийн академийн шинэ үеийн авьяастнуудын нэгээр нэрлэж байна.
Шилжилтийн үйл явц зургаан сарын дотор эцэслэгдэх ёстой ч Мотси одоогоор Манчестер Ситигийн бүрэлдэхүүнд тоглох эрхтэй байгаа юм. Тэрээр өнгөрсөн долоо хоногт Манчестер Юнайтедын 18 хүртэлх насны багийн эсрэг хийсэн тоглолтод сэлгээний суудалд суусан байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
There have been plenty of departures from Leicester City this summer since the club were relegated to League One.
Ten of the players to head for the exit were out of contract and needed to move on to ease the burden on the club’s finances after demotion to the third tier. Others were experienced performers who had to be sold, including Harry Winks, while Jannik Vestergaard’s last contracted year was paid up so he could also move on.
Then there were the young assets who were expected to be sold off, such as Bilal El Khannouss (who made his loan move to VfB Stuttgart permanent) and Abdul Fatawu (who signed for Ipswich), and others whom Leicester might have wished to keep. Among their number was Jeremy Monga, the 17-year-old who broke through into the first team two seasons ago aged just 15 but has now been snapped up by Manchester City as Leicester have slipped down the transfer food chain.
Yet Monga hasn’t been the only teenage talent to be lured away by former Leicester boss Enzo Maresca’s new club. Manchester City have also raided Leicester’s productive academy, which has developed a number of budding stars including Monga and Manchester United target Louis Page. This time for attacking midfielder Darren Motsi.
To kick-start this season’s return of The Prospects, our weekly column looking at some of the youngsters making a positive impression in under-21s football, we cast our eye over the England youth international who swapped Leicester for Manchester this summer.
The player
Name: Darren Motsi
Club: Manchester City
Date of birth: July 11, 2010 (16)
Position: Attacking midfielder
The back story
While Monga was the hot new prospect at Leicester, there was a similar buzz surrounding the emergence of Motsi, who was born in England to Zimbabwean parents.
While still only 15, the left-footed attacking midfielder was playing in the under-21s and attracting plenty of attention last season.
He made 11 appearances in Premier League 2 — 15 in total for the under-21s — and has been capped by England at under-15 and under-16 level. Indeed, he now boasts 10 caps for Neil Ryan’s under-16s.
Although predominantly left footed, he has played on both flanks for both club and country – if mainly down the middle for Leicester.
Darren Motsi in action for Leicester City’s under-21s against Charlton Athletic in October 2025 (Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)
Unlike Monga, who signed scholarship forms when he was 16 that turned into a professional contract on his 17th birthday, Motsi had been attracting attention from other clubs while he was still 15. Most notably Liverpool and Manchester City. But it was City who won the race and Motsi signed scholarship forms with them earlier this month.
The switch has been the subject of the Premier League’s five-step review process for player moves between category one academies and, if the two clubs fail to agree a fee, compensation will be decided under the Premier League’s Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP), which has replaced the tribunal system, and ensures clubs are compensated for the years of player development.
The whole process has to be resolved in six months. In the meantime, Motsi can still play for Manchester City. He was an unused substitute in City’s 1-0 win over Manchester rivals United in last weekend’s under-18s tie.
What we saw
To assess Motsi, The Athletic went back to the latter stages of last season and England under-16s’ participation in the Vertex Cup, a four-team round-robin tournament played in Miami last April.
Motsi had played on the right wing in the opening fixture, a penalty shootout defeat to the United States, and had come on as a substitute in the second game, a 2-1 win over Argentina.
Against Mexico in the final game Motsi started on the left of England’s attack and was influential in his side’s emphatic 5-1 victory, scoring the equaliser and providing the assist for his team’s second.
Motsi is small in stature and slight in build. Last season when he played alongside more senior players in Leicester’s under-21s, the physical difference did seem more stark. But what made him stand out then and on this occasion for England was how nimble he is.
His role was more advanced than that of a traditional wide midfielder and he did not track back too often to help his full-back, chiefly because — despite taking the lead — Mexico offered little in the attacking third even while ahead.
Instead, Motsi carried an attacking threat off the left that Mexico struggled to quell. Two minutes after Mexico’s set-piece opener, Motsi signalled his intent by taking possession in a tight situation and, with quick feet, beat two Mexicans to put England onto the attack.
He seemed very comfortable when taking the ball in other tight situations and invariably retained possession through his ability to change pace and direction almost instantly.
He scored England’s equaliser after a clever lay-off from Vincent Joseph with a direct run off the left into the box, stepping outside a defender before beating the keeper with a low finish inside the far post. It was an excellent individual goal.
His ability at set pieces also led to England’s second when his in-swinging, left-footed corner was headed home by Prince Otabor Osifo.
Motsi was always positive when in possession and looked to play forward, usually through ball carries. He seemed to have more time on the ball than other players on the pitch, which is a wonderful ability to have.
Manchester City have been accumulating the best young talents from other academies in recent years and, judging by this display and Motsi’s offerings for Leicester last season, they have snapped up another gem.
