Born on 16 March 2002 in France, Nathanael Mbuku at the tender age of 22 already had quite a colourful career in professional football. Primarily plying his trade as a striker, he currently dons the kit for Dinamo Zagreb. Standing at a modest 5ft 6in (1.7m) and weighting 10st 3lb (65kg), it is Mbuku's on-field prowess, not size, that makes his presence felt.
According to Transfermarkt, the young French national is currently valued at around £1.7m. With about two and a half years left on his contract with his current club, Dinamo Zagreb, it is set to expire on 30 June 2027.
Mbuku embarked on his professional football journey as a trainee with Reims in Ligue 1, France in July 2017. He slowly integrated into the first team, making 11 appearances in his debut season of 2019 to 2020. By the next season, his performance ramped up considerably, with 32 appearances and four goals in the league. In the following 2021 to 2022 season, he made 31 appearances and scored two goals. During his last session with Reims, he had six appearances on the pitch.
January of 2023 saw Mbuku transferring from Reims to the Bundesliga's Augsburg in Germany. The amount of the transfer fee remains undisclosed. However, his time there was short-lived, with only two first-team appearances in the 2022 - 2023 season and a fleeting single appearance the following one.
In a surprising move, Mbuku was loaned to Saint-Etienne in Ligue 1, France in January 2024. His performance was marked improvement over at Augsburg's stint, as he made 18 first-team appearances and netted three goals. In typical football unpredictability, Mbuku then transferred to Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia's HNL, again for an undisclosed fee, in September of the same year.
His time at Dinamo Zagreb in the ongoing 2024 - 2025 season has been promising so far. He already registered eight first-team appearances and two goals in the league fixture. He also made his debut in the prestigious Champions League 2024 - 2025, albeit as a substitute for Dinamo Zagreb.
