Joel Mumbongo

Mumbongo was born in Stockholm, Sweden to parents of Congolese descent, Jonathan and Marie.[3] He has a younger sister Charité who plays elite handball for Kungälv HK.[4] He spent his early days in Biskopsgården before the family moved to Nödinge-Nol when he was 10 years-old.[5] He started playing youth football for Lundby IF, IF Warta and Nödinge SK.[5] At the age of twelve he used to train with Gothenburg club Örgryte IS after his parents had contacted the youth coach requesting for a trial.[6] As his father worked abroad regularly, the responsibility laid with Mumbongo to make the hour-long bus journey.[6] He was also a gifted sprinter during his teenage years and was ranked as one of the best in his region.[6] Whilst at Örgryte a number of European clubs were beginning to show an interest in Mumbongo. English Premier League side Chelsea contacted his father with the offer of taking Mumbongo on trial, but the trial never materialised.[6] At the age of 15 he went on trial at Manchester City after a Swedish scout had recommended him and was included in an under-16 squad for a tournament in Salzburg.[6] He scored a few goals despite not starting every match but the interest stalled. He subsequently had a short trial at Everton but Mumbongo's father decided that it would be best for his son to finish his studies and play for a top flight club in Sweden.[6] At the age of 16, in the summer of 2015, he left Örgryte to join Häcken.[6] He continued his development in the youth side earning international honours and attracted interest from English clubs again, going on trial with Stoke City and Southampton.[6]

He never made a first team appearance for Häcken despite making the bench twice in the Allsvenskan and training with the side.[6] He decided to drop down two divisions in February 2018 so he could play regularly, when the opportunity arose to sign for Division 1 side Utsiktens BK.[6] He had an impressive goal scoring record in his six months with side, scoring 7 goals in 15 matches.[6] This goal scoring form alerted EFL Championship side Birmingham City who invited him to train with the side.[6] He was all set to sign a contract with all the paperwork completed when the English Football League placed Birmingham under a transfer embargo and the deal was blocked.[6] Mumbongo later signed a one-year deal for Italian side Hellas Verona in August 2018, who had recently been relegated to Serie B.[6] A Hellas Verona scout had spotted Munbongo in a UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualifier against Italy the year previous.[7] He played a number of games in the under-19 Primavera side before sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament injury in a match in October 2018, which kept him out of action for four months.[6] He never made an appearance for the first team as the side were promoted back to Serie A via the play-offs and he returned to Sweden for rehabilitation as a free agent at the end of his contract.[6]

In the summer of 2019 he was spotted on LinkedIn by Jon Pepper, head of the academy at Premier League side Burnley.[6] Pepper contacted Mumbongo's agent Kangana Ndiwa asking for his CV and clips of him in action.[6] Pepper liaised with the under-23 manager Steve Stone, and they both agreed to invite him for a trial.[6] He joined the under-23 side for their pre-season trip to Poland and played in a number of games.[6] Burnley were reluctant to sign him immediately as he had not fully recovered from his injury sustained at Verona.[6] Three months after he had finished his rehabilitation back to full fitness, he was rewarded with a contract until the end of the season in October 2019.[8] After getting more consistent regular minutes at under-23 level he was offered a new 18-month contract in January 2020.[6] In December 2020 he was nominated for the Premier League 2 player of the month award for November after scoring 4 goals in 5 games.[6] Around a month later, on 9 January 2021, he made his first team debut in a third-round FA Cup tie against Milton Keynes Dons at Turf Moor.[6] He came on as a late substitute with the side 1–0 down, eventually providing the assist for Matěj Vydra in stoppage time to level the tie.[6] Burnley went on to win the tie on penalties after extra time.[6] On 31 January 2021, he made his Premier League debut as a substitute for Robbie Brady in a 2–0 away defeat by Chelsea.[9]