On Wednesday 27th July 2022, the Club announced the signing of Kevin Mbabu from VfL Wolfsburg for an undisclosed fee, on a three-year deal.

As comfortable making tackles as he is bombing forward, Mbabu arrived at the Club after three years in the Bundesliga with Wolfsburg.

He began his career in his native Switzerland with FC Servette, making a handful of appearances before moving to Newcastle United as a 17-year-old.

After being handed a senior debut early on in the 2015/16 season as a half-time substitute in the League Cup, Mbabu was given a first Premier League start just three days later.

An injury crisis in the Magpies squad meant he had to be utilised at left-back, but the youngster won acclaim for his performance in the 2-2 draw with Chelsea.

After making five appearances for the club that season, Mbabu agreed a new contract before returning to his homeland to spend the subsequent campaign on loan with BSC Young Boys.

That year he was a regular in the side that finished as runners-up to Basel in the Swiss Super League, with his performances convincing the club to sign him on a permanent deal.

It proved to be an inspired decision, with Mbabu featuring 38 times as Young Boys won the title in 2018 – their first in more than 30 years – by an incredible 15 points, while he was also named as the division’s Player of the Season, and sampled UEFA Europa League football for the first time.

That was the start of a period of dominance for Young Boys in Swiss football, as they retained their title the following season – this time by a 20 point margin – with Mbabu again prevalent, whilst also getting Champions League football under his belt.

His contributions to the power shift in Switzerland had not gone unnoticed, with Wolfsburg parting with a reported £8m to bring the pacey defender to Germany. Mbabu left Young Boys with five goals and 15 assists to his name in 101 matches.

His stint with Die Wölfe was a success, following up a seventh place finish in his maiden campaign with top-four a year later, and the Champions League qualification that came with it.

Mbabu departed the club with eight goal involvements in 82 outings.

He won his first senior cap for Switzerland in September 2018 in the Nations League, going on to help his country finish fourth in the inaugural season of the competition. In the third place play-off defeat on penalties by England, Mbabu successfully converted his spot-kick.

He was later named in the Switzerland squad for the postponed 2020 European Championship, featuring in all five games as they reached the Quarter-Finals, where Spain needed penalties to knock them out.

Mbabu’s performance in the dramatic Round of 16 victory over France won many plaudits, as he came off the bench to set up a goal as Switzerland managed to force extra-time, before eventually going on to triumph on spot-kicks.