Ex-Portsmouth defender left without a club - a week after suffering Wembley final heartbreak
The Buckland lad made 18 appearances after coming through the Blues’ Academy
He suffered Wembley heartbreak - now a week later Haji Mnoga is looking for a new club.
The former Pompey defender was striving for League Two play-off glory last month with Salford after reaching the showpiece final.
However, it ended in agony for Karl Robinson’s men, who lost 3-0 to Notts County, thereby missing out on promotion to League One.
Mnoga, who left Fratton Park in the summer of 2024, started the Wembley occasion at right wing-back having been a regular throughout a season which saw them finish fourth.
The Somerstown lad featured 33 times for Salford in the campaign, collecting 14 bookings and one red card, although was absent during the Africa Cup of Nations while representing Tanzania.
And, having declined a new contract, it has been announced the 24-year-old is among nine players leaving the Manchester-based club just a week after that Wembley loss.
Instead Mnoga is bidding to get League One football through a move as a free agent, having missed out on promotion during two eye-catching seasons for Salford after bouncing back from Pompey rejection.
Flourishing in the Football League
The tough-tackling defender has flourished in the Football League since joining the Ammies in August 2024, following an unsuccessful trial at Notts County.
After impressing in his first season, Salford took up a 12-month option to extend his deal in the summer of 2025, while later rejected two bids for youngster from Rotherham, the latter worth £250,000.
It is understood during the 2025-26 season, Mnoga turned down several contract extension offers from his club in favour of potentially exploring his options as a free agent should they fail to win promotion.
As it turned out, defeat at Wembley marked his last appearance for Salford, joining Ossama Ashley, Dan Chesters, Cole Stockton, Tom Edwards, Kadeem Harris, Fabio Borini, Mark Howard and Mackenzie Chapman in leaving the club.
Bouncing back from Pompey rejection
Encouragingly for the ex-Cottage Grove Primary School pupil, he’s continuing to carve out a Football League career for himself after being shown the door by John Mousinho.
Having been handed his first-team debut as a 16-year-old in the Checkatrade Trophy at Crawley in October 2018 under Kenny Jackett, the defender would also feature under Danny Cowley.
However, when the defender left the Blues in the summer of 2024 at the end of his contract, he had failed to make an appearance under Mousinho, having spent the previous 18 months on loan at Aldershot and Gillingham.
The former Meon Milton youth footballer totalled 18 appearances for his home-town club, representing a rare Academy success story under Michael Eisner.
Following his Fratton Park departure, he has thrived, going on to make 75 appearances for Salford, scoring once, and is now seeking his next playing challenge.
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