Melingo Kevin Mbabu (born 19 April 1995) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Bundesliga club Augsburg, on loan from Premier League club Fulham, and the Switzerland national team.
Club career
Servette
Born in Chêne-Bougeries, Switzerland, Mbabu started his career at Servette and progressed through the youth team.
At the start of the 2012–13 season, he was promoted to the first team and appeared in number of matches for the side. He made his professional debut as a 66th-minute substitute for Servette in a Swiss Super League match against Lausanne-Sport on 26 September 2012, which turned out to be his only appearance for the club.
Newcastle United
After a successful trial at the age of 17, Mbabu signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with Newcastle United, moving for an undisclosed fee on 31 January 2013. Upon joining the club, he was immediately assigned to the development squad.
In the second half of the 2012–13 season, Mbabu made his home debut for the development squad on 1 April 2013, in a 2–1 win over Stoke City Development Squad. For the rest of the second half of the 2012–13 season, he quickly impressed for the side and made seven appearances for the development side. The 2013–14 season saw Mbabu appeared in the development squad despite suffering from injuries as the season progressed.
However, in the 2014–15 season, Mbabu was plagued by injuries and affected the first half of the season. On 2 February 2015, Mbabu signed for Scottish Championship club Rangers on loan until the end of the 2014–15 season but he did not play in any games or even make it onto the bench once.
At the start of the 2015–16 season, Mbabu recovered from injury and continued to feature in the development squad. With lack of first team opportunities at the club, he was expected to be loaned out. But he called up to the first team by Manager Steve McClaren following an injuries of defenders and made his Newcastle United debut against Sheffield Wednesday in the League Cup, coming on as a substitute for Daryl Janmaat on 23 September 2015. Three days later, on 26 September 2015, Mbabu made his full Newcastle debut against Chelsea starting at left-back and the game finished 2–2. His performance against Chelsea was praised by pundits. He then made another start in the league on 3 October 2015, in a 6–1 loss against Manchester City. However, he suffered a hamstring injury shortly after that kept him out throughout October. It wasn't until on 7 November 2015 when he returned as a late substitute, in a 1–0 win against Bournemouth. Two months later, on 9 January 2016, Mbabu returned to the first team in the third round of FA Cup against Watford, where he started and played 52 minutes before being substituted, in a 1–0 loss. Following this, he missed the rest of the season after suffering injuries on two occasions. However, Mbabu went on to make 5 appearances in all competitions, as Newcastle United were relegated from the Premier League after six seasons there. At the end of the 2015–16 season, Mbabu signed a two–year contract with the club. Two years after his departure, Mbabu reflected on his time at Newcastle United.
Young Boys
On 23 August 2016, Mbabu completed a season-long loan move to Swiss Super League-club Young Boys.
However, Mbabu's start of his Young Boys saw him appear on the substitute bench in the first two months there. It wasn't until on 2 October 2016 when he made his Young Boys debut, coming on as a late substitute, in a 2–2 draw against FC St. Gallen. Several weeks later, on 23 October 2016, Mbabu made his first start and played the whole game, in a 4–0 win over Grasshopper. Three days later, on 26 October 2016, Mbabu scored his first goal for the club in the last 16 of Swiss Cup, in a 5–0 win over Grasshoppers. After missing one match in late–October, he was sent–off in a follow–up match on 3 November 2016, in a 1–0 loss against APOEL in the Group Stage of the UEFA Europa League. Mbabu then scored his first league goal for the club a month later on 3 December 2016, in a 3–1 win over FC Basel. Following this, Mbabu continued to establish himself in the starting eleven, playing in the right–back position for the number of matches. Despite being suspended on three occasions later in the season, Mbabu went on to make 24 appearances and scoring 2 times in all competitions. At the end of the 2016–17 season, Mbabu signed a permanent contract with the club. It was reported that he signed a three–year contract with the club, as Newcastle United agreed to sell him.