Biography
Left sided attacking midfielder Joel Ndala joined the Tigers in July 2025 on a season long loan, signed from parent club Manchester City. He went straight into Sergey Jakirovic’s first team at the start of the 2025/26 season and scored his first goal for the Tigers in an August 2025 League Cup tie against Wrexham.
Joel Tshisanga Ndala was born in Manchester to parents that hailed from the Democratic Republic of Congo. After spending a few years in France as a child Ndala returned to England in 2013 and his family settled in Stoke-on-Trent. As a young child he played for Port Vale’s academy but at the age of 11 he moved to Manchester City’s academy.
Ndala signed his first professional contract for Manchester City in July 2022, just weeks after his sixteenth birthday. In November 2022 he made his senior debut in an EFL Trophy match against Grimsby Town and spent the 2022/23 season scoring regularly for City’s Under-18 side – he also played two games for their Under-21 side while still sixteen years old. He played in two further EFL Trophy ties in the first half of the 2023/24 season, scoring his first senior goal against Grimsby Town in August 2023. He also played a leading role in Manchester City’s victory in the FA Youth Cup, playing in five of the six ties including the May 2024 final where Leeds United’s Under-18s were beaten 4-0.
In September 2024 Joel joined Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven on a season long loan and played for PSV’s second team in Dutch Eerste Divisie, the second tier of senior football in the Netherlands. After making his debut for PSV II in September 2024 against ADO Den Haag, Ndala went on the score one goal (in October 2024 against Vitesse Arnhem) in 12 appearances. His loan was cut short in January 2025 and an obligation for PSV to buy Ndala was waived, and in February 2025 he joined Premier League side Nottingham Forest on loan for the remainder of the season. Joel did not make a senior appearance for Forest and played 11 times for their PL2 Reserves side. An option to buy Ndala was not exercised and he returned to Manchester City before joining Hull City in July 2025.
Identified as a talented player during his teenage years, in August 2021 Ndala made a goalscoring debut for England’s Under-16 side against Scotland. In November 2023 he graduated to the Under-17 side and scored three goals in 4 appearances in the FIFA Under-17 World Cup played in Indonesia. He also played regularly for England’s Under-18 side during the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons – he made his debut against Netherlands in September 2022 and made the last of his 11 appearances against Germany in March 2024, scoring two goals at that level. In October 2024 he played in three matches for the England Under-19 side against Portugal, Netherlands and France.
In September 2025, shortly after he joined Hull City, Ndala made his first appearance for England Under-20s against Italy.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 31 May 2006, Manchester
Hull City First Game: 9 August 2025, Coventry City A (Championship), 19 years, 70 days old
Hull City Final Game: [current player]
Clubs
Manchester City (2022-current), Jong PSV (2024-2025, loan), Nottingham Forest (2025, loan), Hull City (2025-2026, loan)
Hull City Record
Career: 6 apps, 1 goals
Joel Ndala| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025/26 | 4 (1) | 0 | – | – | 0 (1) | 1 | – | – | – | – |