Man City have an emerging star - and he's starting to show why Pep Guardiola loves him

Divin Mubama scored a hat-trick for loan side Stoke City on Saturday as they thumped Bristol City in the Championship and the Manchester City youngster is showing why he could soon be a Premier League option.

Pep Guardiola labelled Divin Mubama's movement as 'unbelievable' when the Manchester City prospect netted his first senior goal in January. Now the striker is starting to show his talent in the Championship.

City agreed a loan switch with Stoke City for the 21-year-old in the summer window and after two goals in his first two league appearances for the Potters, Mubama ended a 12-game goal drought in style over the weekend with a stunning hat-trick in a 5-0 victory over Bristol City.

His all round play and development is catching the eye at the Bet365 Stadium and he is helping Stoke mount a promotion push. Mubama signed for City from West Ham in July 2024 and scored on his only senior City start to date when he netted in the 8-0 FA Cup romp over Salford at the turn of the year.

Guardiola was impressed, saying after that game: “Divin’s movement is unbelievable. The way he moves in the right tempo and how he presses. For the first goal it looks easy, but how he makes the counter movement for the defender is really good.”

At Stoke he is enjoying his first run of matches in senior football, and the signs are encouraging. We spoke to the Stoke Sentinel's Potters reporter Pete Smith for the lowdown.

How has he settled into life at Stoke?

"First of all, it looks like he’s enjoying himself. He’s getting a real taste of action and the manager has kept faith in him as he’s been learning. And you can see he’s learning. His hold up play, movement and positioning are progressing and we were saying last week that he just needed to add a bit of ruthlessness – although that is obviously such a big thing. Then he went and scored a hat-trick against Bristol City.

"There’s a sense that he’s a striker that can go on a bit of a streak when his tail is up and he has conviction in his shooting. Stoke are hoping so.

"There are things that he’ll hone over the next few weeks and months. There are times when he can stay on his feet and he has to show he can hit high levels again and again through the churn of a Championship winter. But he’ll be buzzing at the moment. He’s in a good place."

Does he look a player with a high ceiling?

"Yes, he does. Who knows how high but there are little things you can see in his game that are encouraging, like the presence of mind he showed when he pounced on a spill from the goalkeeper on Saturday.

"You can see there’s a player in there and coaches for club and country clearly see it too.

"Liam Delap was with Stoke three years ago. It was almost that he was so desperate to do well for the club that his heart ruled his head and he looked raw at times – but he’s rocketed since then. Mubama is in a better Stoke side so hopefully we will see more of what he can do."

What has Mark Robins had to say about him so far?

"Robins said after the Bristol City game: 'He’s a good player. How good he can get is genuinely up to him. You give him a platform. He’s a Manchester City player and somebody who has been bought from West Ham.

'We’ve been lucky enough to be trusted with him and his development. I think it’s a really good place for him to be. He’s going to get opportunities. He’s going to get some goals. He’s going to get some knocks along the way which will go to make him an experienced player – you’re really a product of your experiences and I hope he will get some really good ones here.

'We’re delighted we’ve got him. He’s listening and he’s studious and when he puts things into practice it’s great but he can’t do it without his teammates and everyone contributed. That’s what it takes to get a performance like that.”

What else has been said?

This was quite prescient. Stoke legend Mike Pejic wrote in his weekly column on the morning of Mubama’s hat-trick how he was expecting the forward to start coming to the fore.

Pejic said: “It’s a big ask for a lad to come in on loan for his first taste of regular men’s football and be the main striker for a club that’s expecting to do well – but that’s why he’s here.

“You can see he’s working on his movement and his all-round game but the hard part of learning on the job is that you have to keep chipping in with goals too. He has to come off every game and ask how many chances he has had and what he can do better to keep learning. He should be a constant threat in any position around that penalty area.

“That movement going from the mid-third to the final third is so important to break down centre-backs and then it’s another movement further forward. He’s got to be available to set up players and, when teammates create for him, he’s got to show he can be a finisher.

“It is genuinely very hard – but he’s got the talent to do it. He will be finding out what works in terms of making runs to leave centre-backs behind, to get across defenders or get down the side of defenders, how to pinch a yard, how to turn in and out of possession.

“In this batch of games in November there is a chance to show exactly what he’s been learning. You need your key players to come up trumps against the calibre of opposition we’ll face this month. He’s had a good taste of action now, he’s with England under-21s and he’s being backed to have high potential. It’s time to show everyone why.”