Kabongo Tshimanga (born 22 July 1997)[2] is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for National League club Chesterfield. Born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tshimanga has previously represented the England C team.
Personal information | |||
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Full name | Kabongo Tshimanga[1] | ||
Date of birth | (1997-07-22) 22 July 1997 (age 25)[2] | ||
Place of birth | Kinshasa, DR Congo | ||
Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[3] | ||
Position(s) | Forward | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | Chesterfield | ||
Number | 9 | ||
Youth career | |||
2005–2014 | Milton Keynes Dons | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2014–2017 | Milton Keynes Dons | 6 | (0) |
2015 | → Aldershot Town (loan) | 2 | (0) |
2015 | → Chelmsford City (loan) | 4 | (0) |
2015 | → Corby Town (loan) | 10 | (5) |
2015–2016 | → Nuneaton Town (loan) | 5 | (1) |
2016 | → Chesham United (loan) | 7 | (0) |
2016 | → Þróttur (loan) | 6 | (0) |
2017 | → Yeovil Town (loan) | 0 | (0) |
2017–2018 | Boston United | 34 | (8) |
2018–2019 | Oxford City | 42 | (24) |
2019–2021 | Boreham Wood | 79 | (38) |
2021– | Chesterfield | 37 | (28) |
National team‡ | |||
2019 | England C | 1 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 00:01, 28 October 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 08:25, 28 April 2019 (UTC) |
Tshimanga joined Milton Keynes Dons at U10 level.[4] After scoring 27 youth team goals, Tshimanga was rewarded with a squad number early in the 2014–15 season despite only recently turning 18.[5] He made his first team debut on 8 November, coming on as a late substitute for Benik Afobe in a 4–3 FA Cup first round victory over Port Vale at Vale Park.[6] Tshimanga signed his first professional contract with the club on 3 January 2015.[4] On 30 January 2015, Tshimanga joined Aldershot Town of the Conference on loan having scored 42 goals in 25 games for MK Dons U18 team.[7]
Tshimanga spent the entire 2015–16 season on loan to several non-League clubs, including brief spells with Corby Town, Nuneaton Town and Chesham United. On 18 August 2015 he scored an eight-minute hat-trick for Corby Town against Hednesford Town.[8] Following the conclusion of the season, Tshimanga briefly joined Icelandic Úrvalsdeild side Throttur Reykjavik on a short-term loan deal until July 2016.
Tshimanga found more first team opportunities with the Dons during the first half of the 2016–17 season following the club's relegation, and made his first team debut as an 87th-minute substitute on 20 August 2016 away to Rochdale.[9] However, after spending the second half of the season on loan to Yeovil Town, Tshimanga was released from the club in June 2017.[10]
Following his release, Tshimanga joined National League North side Boston United on 1 July 2017, signing a one-year deal before going on to make 34 league appearances and scoring 8 goals.[11]
Following the expiry of his contract, Tshimanga opted to join National League South side Oxford City in June 2018.[12] On 10 November 2018, Tshimanga scored a hat-trick in an FA Cup first round 3–3 draw away to Tranmere Rovers.[13] Tshimanga ended his first season as top scorer with 29 goals in all competitions,[14] and was also the recipient of the club's Supporters' and Players' Player of the Year awards.[15] He was later named in the 2018–19 National League South Team of the Year.[16]
On 1 July 2019, Tshimanga signed for National League club Boreham Wood on a two-year deal.[17] In his first season he helped the club to a play-off finish, scoring 19 goals in 37 appearances in the process.[citation needed]
On 10 August 2021, despite rumoured interest from Football League sides, Tshimanga joined National League side Chesterfield for an undisclosed fee on a three-year deal.[18] After scoring nine goals in his first six weeks of the season, he was awarded the league's Player of the Month award for August/September 2021.[19] Tshimanga finished the campaign with 25 goals in 31 appearances in all competitions, and was named in the league's Team of the Year for the third consecutive season.[20]
Tshimanga is eligible to play for both England and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In April 2019, he was called up to the England C squad for a friendly fixture, on 9 April 2019, against a Bedfordshire FA XI to mark the association's 125th anniversary.[21]
Speaking in November 2014, then Milton Keynes Dons manager Karl Robinson described Tshimanga as "quick, powerful, he wants to run at people and he's a constant threat."[22]
Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Other | Total | ||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Milton Keynes Dons | 2014–15[23] | League One | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
2015–16[24] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
2016–17[25] | League One | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 12 | 1 | |
Total | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 1 | ||
Aldershot Town (loan) | 2014–15[23][14] | Conference Premier | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
Chelmsford City (loan) | 2014–15[14] | Conference South | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
Corby Town (loan) | 2015–16[14][26] | National League North | 10 | 5 | 2 | 0 | — | 1[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 13 | 5 | |
Nuneaton Town (loan) | 2015–16[14][26] | National League North | 5 | 1 | — | — | 2[lower-alpha 3] | 1 | 7 | 2 | ||
Chesham United (loan) | 2015–16[26] | SL Premier Division | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | |||
Þróttur (loan) | 2016[14] | Úrvalsdeild | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 7 | 1 | ||
Yeovil Town (loan) | 2016–17[25] | League Two | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
Boston United | 2017–18[14] | National League North | 34 | 8 | 3 | 3 | — | 1[lower-alpha 4] | 1 | 38 | 12 | |
Oxford City | 2018–19[14][26] | National League South | 42 | 24 | 6 | 7 | — | 6[lower-alpha 5] | 6 | 54 | 37 | |
Boreham Wood | 2019–20[27][14] | National League | 37 | 19 | 1 | 0 | — | 3[lower-alpha 6] | 0 | 41 | 19 | |
2020–21[28][14] | National League | 42 | 19 | 4 | 3 | — | 1[lower-alpha 4] | 0 | 47 | 22 | ||
Total | 79 | 38 | 5 | 3 | — | 4 | 0 | 88 | 41 | |||
Chesterfield | 2021–22[29][14] | National League | 27 | 24 | 4 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 31 | 25 | |
2022–23[30][14] | National League | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 10 | 4 | ||
Total | 37 | 28 | 4 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 41 | 29 | |||
Career total | 232 | 104 | 23 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 17 | 8 | 274 | 128 |
Individual
Chesterfield F.C. – current squad | |
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Awards | |||||||||||||||||
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