One of Aston Villa’s new signings has recently shared his thoughts on joining the club after representing his nation at the World Cup.
Aston Villa’s second signing for the upcoming 2026/27 season, Johan Manzambi, has expressed his delight at making the move this summer. It has been quite a meteoric rise, considering the fact that he was only promoted to Freiburg’s first team during the 2024/25 season and became a regular starter last season.
He also produced a breakthrough performance with the Switzerland national team at the 2026 World Cup, registering three goals and two assists. It was his first-ever major international tournament. It is no wonder Villa had to spend a considerable fee to sign him. In fact, his transfer fee, which reached £49 million, is a new club-record signing for the Lions. Such marked him as one of the few players who joined Aston Villa after thriving at the FIFA World Cup.
Manzambi recently shared his thoughts on joining Aston Villa, as reported by the club’s official website, avfc.co.uk.
“I am very, very happy and I am excited to play with this club. It’s a very big club in England, and they’re playing in the Champions League. I’ve already played against Aston Villa, and for me, it was the perfect plan.”
Manzambi has the ambition to perform at the highest level, just as he did with Freiburg and his national team, as he added during the interview.
“I hope I can play the same as in the World Cup and with Freiburg. I’m sure that with the team, the coach and the staff that I can do the same.”
The 20-year-old versatile midfielder also praised his new boss. He cannot wait to get started and work with him.
“I’m very excited. I could see on the pitch that he was a very good coach. I’m very excited to be here and to be training with Unai Emery and the team. I’m very excited to be here with my new team-mates. It’s a great place here. I feel we can do big things, and we will see. With this staff and this team, I think we can do big things.”
The midfielder, who has 16 international caps, has chosen the right team to develop himself and achieve major success. Aston Villa are competing in the Champions League and are about to face PSG in the UEFA Super Cup next month. Such an opportunity would not have been available had he chosen to join Newcastle United.
Manzambi is definitely a great addition to the squad. He can operate as a number eight, a number six or defensive midfielder, an attacking midfielder, a second striker, and a winger. At Freiburg, he was mainly deployed as a central midfielder. He played 34 games in that role, registering five goals and five assists.
His second most frequent role was as a second striker. Manzambi was fielded 17 times in that position, notching up four goals and providing three assists. Overall, he made 58 appearances, scoring nine goals and providing 11 assists. The other roles he was given were attacking midfielder (three times), defensive midfielder (twice), and winger (twice).
Meanwhile, for the national team, the former Servette academy player has mainly been deployed as a right winger and attacking midfielder. He scored a brace while playing on the wing at the 2026 FIFA World Cup against Bosnia Herzegovina, while as a number 10, the Geneva-born midfielder contributed one goal and two assists in the final two games before being sidelined through injury, against co-hosts Canada and Algeria in the Round of 32.
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