Malawian starlet Mhango ticks boxes for Bundesliga side

If positive feedback that Hannover 96 coach Christian Titz has provided is anything to go by, the dream of a Malawian gracing the Bundesliga will soon become a reality.

Dan Chitsulo came close to realizing that dream for the lowly-ranked nation when he signed for the reserves of Cologne FC in 2000. However, the former Flames star struggled to make it into the senior team.

Hier gibt es die 90 Testspiel-Minuten gegen Emden zum Nachlesen. ⤵️#H96EMD #H96 #NiemalsAllein ⚫️⚪️💚https://t.co/W5Y5kQ3yI4

— Hannover 96 (@Hannover96) January 31, 2026

Now, another Malawian Mwisho Mhango is giving it another try. The 18-year-old is on the books of Hannover 96 in the 2 Bundesliga.

The Malawi under-20 attacker has been undergoing an integration programme to adapt to the demands and rigours of the very physical and fast league in Germany.

Months after signing for Hannover 96, Titz has now provided an insight into Mhango’s development and outlined what is crucial for the next step.

The coach said the 2025 COSAFA Youth Championship Golden Boot award winner has developed significantly his game “especially in terms of physicality and intensity.”

Progress of Malawian Mhango at Hannover 96

Speaking to Hannover 96 website, Titz cited Mhango’s adaptation to German culture, the pace of the Bundesliga, physicality and defensive tactics.

“I don’t want to make any predictions about Mwisho. We thought long and hard about what the right path is for him. And we came to the conclusion that the high-intensity training sessions with us and the recurring test matches are a good path for him,” the coach added.

The manager assessed the Malawian after he featured for Hannover 96 for 90 minutes in a friendly against fellow 2 Bundesliga opponents Kickers Emden recently. Hannover won the practice match 3-2.

Titz refused to give timelines as to when Mhango would be thrown into the main squad, saying he still needs to work on some aspects of his game.

The coach said the big areas for improvement were in “in his work off the ball.”

Mhango signed for German side Malawi’s Ascent Soccer on a five-year contract last September.

As a non-European Union player, he is ineligible to play for the Under-23 team in the Regionalliga Nord for Germany. In view of this, Hannover have not ruled out a possible loan move for the Malawian.

Mhango shone brightly at the 2025 COSAFA Youth Championship scoring five goals in three games for Malawi who reached the final. He won the Golden Boot and Player of the Tournament awards.