Englishman with Ugandan descent Divine Tayon Mahogany Mukasa has taken his first step into senior Championship football, making his competitive debut for Leicester City in a hard-fought away defeat to Birmingham City at St Andrew’s.
The 18-year-old winger, on loan from Manchester City, was introduced late in the contest as the Foxes battled adversity for much of the afternoon. Reduced to 10 men early on, Leicester eventually succumbed 2-1 to a resilient Birmingham side.
The hosts struck first through Ibrahim Osman in the third minute, setting the tone for an intense encounter. Leicester briefly restored parity when Ghanaian youngster Abdul Fatawu found the net in the 21st minute, but the momentum soon swung again after Bobby De Cordova-Reid was dismissed in the 32nd minute, leaving the visitors with a numerical disadvantage for over an hour.
A loss away to Birmingham.#BIRLEI | @BCGame pic.twitter.com/liFGZFmrCw
— Leicester City (@LCFC) February 7, 2026
Birmingham made their dominance count in the second half when Jay Stansfield fired home in the 67th minute to reclaim the lead for the Blues. In search of inspiration, Leicester coach rang the changes, with Mukasa among the trio brought on in the 77th minute. The Ugandan-heritage forward replaced Joseph Oluwaseyi Temitope Ayodele Aribo as the Foxes pushed for a late response.
Mukasa’s introduction marked a significant milestone in a rapidly rising career. Leicester secured the highly rated teenager on loan from Manchester City to accelerate his development through regular first-team exposure, and his Championship debut signals the beginning of that journey.
Born in Newham, England, to a Ugandan father and a Lithuanian mother, Mukasa has built a strong reputation within England’s elite youth systems.
He boasts the rare achievement of winning the English Youth FA Cup in consecutive seasons, first with West Ham United in the 2022/23 campaign, and again with Manchester City in 2023/24.
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Internationally, Mukasa has represented England across multiple youth levels, featuring for the U-15, U-16, U-17 and currently the U-18 national teams. His output this season underlines his growing influence: at Under-21 level, he has registered seven goals in 13 appearances, while across the Under-18 Premier League, UEFA Youth League and FA Youth Cup, he has contributed 17 goals and 24 assists in 34 matches.
Leicester City will look to bounce back from the setback when they welcome Southampton to the King Power Stadium on Tuesday, 10th February 2026, with Mukasa now firmly in contention for further first-team minutes as his Championship chapter begins.
