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Wilkinson challenges City's young debutants to kick on after first taste of first-team action
Manchester Evening News
|September 26, 2025
MANCHESTER City under-21s boss Ben Wilkinson has challenged the club's latest debutants to kick on from their taste of first-team action at Huddersfield Town and deal with the return to age-group football that is likely to come their way.
Divine Mukasa, 18, played the full game in City's 2-0 Carabao Cup win at the Accu Stadium, while Jaden Heskey, 19, and Reigan Heskey, 17, came off the bench to make their professional debuts.
There was also further first-team experience for highly-rated 17-year-old centre-back Stephen Mfuni, who didn't get on but has now been on the bench against Manchester United, Napoli and Huddersfield.
The quartet are all likely to drop down and play for Wilkinson in Premier League 2 or the UEFA Youth League again in the coming weeks. Mukasa is the most advanced at senior level, having spent most of this season training with the first team.
This story is from the September 26, 2025 edition of Manchester Evening News.
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