For most West Ham fans, the news that finally, after more than three years, Manchester City had been found guilty of all but one of the 115 charges immediately led to us all trying to connect the dots as to how it would impact our club’s chances of signing permanently City’s on-loan midfield star in the making Divine Mukasa.
Remember, the 19 year old prodigy is a product of the West Ham United academy and admitted to having turned down Premier League options to come back to West Ham on loan this season, since which his career has blossomed.
Mukasa has found his higher profile and game time in east London has elevated him into the England u21 squad – something which would not have happened had he sat gathering dust in Man City’s youth squad.
West Ham’s chances of keeping Mukasa will depend on the punishment – eventually – meted out to Man City
However, even with an appeal pending, former Man City financial advisor Stefan Borson believes the chances of Mukasa making a permanent switch to east London in light of City possibly being thrown out of the Premier League are small to zero:
West Ham United will struggle to sign Divine Mukasa permanently if Manchester City are relegated to the Championship.
That is according to former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson, (who exclusively told Football Insider ) that the 19-year-old midfielder will be needed back at the Etihad Stadium..”
Borson has predicted Mukasa to be utilised as a senior player next season if Man City are punished with relegation.
“Ironically, these sorts of players that City are going to be calling on, you would think, will be the academy players,” he said.
So I would think that the very big players, in the event of relegation, will go, and Man City will have to form a squad that mixes the players that remain and the best prospects they have from the academy.”
I’d suggest it is far too early to tell. Until the sanctions are known, nobody is going to jump ship from Manchester any time soon and with a huge appeals process that could easily take until next summer.
Mukasa, along with every other player on City’s payroll, will be waiting for their own agents to tell them what to do . And right now, that is probably ‘nothing’. Of course, if City end up in League Two, (stranger things have happened) all bets are off. Mukasa will be knocking on the door at E20. We can but hope.