Jardell Kanga has made a habit of catching the headlines on all his career. Bursting onto the scene to become IF Brommapojkarna Academy’s youngest ever first-team player at the age of 15, being named amongst the Guardian’s top 60 players to look out for, born in 2005 alongside stars like Desiré Doué, now of PSG, Mathys Tel of Tottenham Hotspur, Antonia Nusa of RB Leipzig and Arda Güler of Real Madrid, and scoring a stoppage-time stunner at St Mirren on his debut for Motherwell.

He certainly announced his arrival in emphatic fashion, but now, a couple months into his stay in ML1, life has settled down for Kanga as he looks to fully establish himself as a Motherwell player.

“I found an apartment quite quickly,” he said.

“I’ve come into a good group of players who have helped me settle quickly. I chose to move out of Sweden and go somewhere new, as I’ve always wanted to be a professional footballer. Moving away from home is just part of that. I chose to come here and turn down other options, so I’m fully committed.

“The goal against St Mirren was amazing; it’s one of the top moments in my career so far. I played some friendly games for the Bayer Leverkusen first-team which is up there also. When I scored, I didn’t know what to do. It was just so nice that I could contribute in that way, as that’s a huge part of my game: getting goals and assists. I’ve now gone a few games without doing that where I’ve started or come on as a sub, so I’m looking for more.”

Alfred Johansson has stated publicly that since Kanga landed in Scotland, it’s been a case of building up. At the age of 20, the Motherwell staff have been working with Kanga to ensure he can compete at his optimum.

As such, the Swedish youth international believes there is a lot more to come from him and that everyone will see more.

“I’ve had some good games and some less good games,” he explained.

“Much more is still to come. I’m not satisfied with where I am at the minute.”

Football has always been a prominent part of Kanga’s life. His mother played football for teams in their local area, his dad, Kutshi Kanga played for Syrianska in the Swedish second and third divisions, and his cousin Joe Mendes currently plays for Samsunspor in Turkey, having previously turned out for Braga and Basel.

And with Kanga’s constant media spotlight and attention, having a support network of people who have been in the game has been pivotal for his development.

“For me, it’s always been football,” he stated.

“Even when I look at pictures of me as a young child, you always see me with a ball in my hand or at my feet; there’s even some of me meeting sleeping with a football. I don’t have memories where I didn’t play football.

“I started with Eskilstuna, then I went to Vasalunds if. They have very good academy teams. From there I went to IF Brommapojkarna. And the funny thing is, I was at Brommapojkarna earlier in my career. I didn’t play and just played in school instead and decided to join Vasalunds, as they were close to my home. We ended up playing Brommapojkarna, where I played well and scored, so they wanted me to come back.”

Kanga had been widely regarded as one of the hottest prospects to come out of Sweden, bursting onto the professional football stage with a bang. He became Brommapojkarna’s youngest-ever player in 2021 when he featured in a first-team match, having shown an abundance of excitement, maturity and professionalism at the age of just 15.

But this debut was part of a wider success story for Kanga. At the age of just 15, he went on to play 23 games in the Swedish third division, scoring five goals in just under 1000 minutes played and starting 11 games. His performances helped his team achieve promotion to the second tier of Swedish football, but Kanga caught wide-spread attention and subsequently joined Bayer Leverkusen.

“It was a crazy time, but to be honest with you, I didn’t care about the stuff off the pitch,” Kanga mentioned.

“My friends and family have always kept me humble. I was never, ever a superstar around my friends. They never hyped me up and the noise around me. This noise was outside, but the people I was around made sure I stayed humble. I was never a ‘wonderkid’, and I made sure I did good stuff. It was easier to handle everything with those people around me.

“Brommapojkarna” means everything to me. It’s going good for them just now, and that makes me happy. It’s a club that gave me everything and gave me a chance to play first-team football. I had incredible coaches that did everything and more for me, and I’ll always be grateful.

“It was an exciting time when I had to decide to leave Sweden, but it was so difficult. The hardest part was leaving my parents because they were very sad that I left at such a young age. I’d just turned 16, and seeing them sad was hard, but they were so happy for me also. But as I’ve said, this is what I wanted. But I would say I was more excited than nervous to join Leverkusen.”

Kanga joined the illustrious Leverkusen youth side but had ample experience training with the first-team under Xabi Alonso and also played in friendly matches.

But despite this wonderful and life-changing experience, there is one moment that stands out for him during his time in Germany that still resonates with him today.

“I remember I was sitting with the Transition Coach,” he recalled.

“And he told me that ‘your talent has taken you to Leverkusen, but it won’t take you further.’ That always stands out for me because he was saying that if I wanted to take the next step in my career, I would have to work really hard and sacrifice a lot. That was the best lesson I had there. The tactical stuff was amazing, and training under Alonso and everything, but this advice I received, it stuck with me.

“That’s why I can still hear his voice in my head all the time. I’ve had headlines and stories written about me for most of my career, and you can’t avoid that.

“At my age, we’re all on social media, and it’s hard not to see these things. You just have to stay focused and chase your goal. I had my mum, dad, uncle and friends who were like older brothers to me who all kept me grounded. I never got the chance to fly away and get carried away.”

Continuing his development with Bayer Leverkusen’s Under 17 and Under 19 sides, he joined De Graafschap on loan before returning to Sweden with Hammarby in 2024, signing a four-year contract with the Swedish outfit.

“I didn’t play so much when I returned to Sweden,” the Swede said.

“I learned a lot, but during my time at Hammarby, even though I didn’t play a lot and some things didn’t go my way. It taught me that I need to put in even more work to succeed. I had to trust the process, and I’m thankful for that experience. To not play and be benched helps me learn, and I didn’t complain.”

In 2025, Kanga joined Ilves, and this was where he really began to make his mark at the first-team level.

Across his almost two seasons with Ilves in Finland, Kanga has played 68 games for the Finns, scoring 18 goals and assisting 16 times. His maturity has been shown, having been given the captain’s armband on a number of occasions for matches.

“I think going to Finland was one of the best choices I’ve made in my career,” the 20-year-old added.

“It was exactly what I needed. In the beginning, things didn’t start off great, but it became so good for me there. I was able to captain the side for a while, which was amazing. It was an amazing team and amazing people around the club, and I’m so thankful for the memories I have from my time there.

“We played some European games against a good team, and it was the best decision I’ve made so far. I think I do have that leadership part of my game. People forget my age, I think. It’s always been like this; since I was 12 or 13 years old, people have forgotten. When I was 16, people thought I was 22. You have to live with it, and it will help me going forward.

“Right now, the most important thing for us is to trust what we do and stay together. That’s the most important thing we need to do. It’s not going our way all of the time, but we’re doing a lot of stuff away from matches to try and improve, and I really believe in this team. I see ourselves every day, and we have so much quality. Things will turn consistently very soon.”

The post Jardell Kanga: There’s More to Come appeared first on Motherwell Football Club.

Motherwell Football Club

Message History

Delivery option(s)