Johan Manzambi is undergoing his Aston Villa medical on Thursday, the final step before a club-record move from Freiburg is completed.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Villa agreed a fee understood to be north of €60 million with Freiburg, with personal terms on a long-term contract also settled with the Switzerland international’s representatives. Sky Sports reports that the move sees Villa move ahead of Newcastle United, who had a club-to-club agreement in place with Freiburg but had not secured the player’s approval to sign.
The fee will exceed the £50m Villa paid Everton for Amadou Onana in 2024, making Manzambi the club’s record signing.
Unai Emery Fills The Midfield Gap Left By Tielemans And Onana
Villa’s midfield was left short following Youri Tielemans’ move to Manchester United and Onana’s long-term injury sustained on World Cup duty with Belgium. Unai Emery views the 20-year-old as a long-term successor in the middle of the park, with his press-resistant, box-to-box profile seen as an ideal fit for Villa’s Champions League return.
There was brief uncertainty earlier in the week after Villa’s new front-of-shirt sponsorship with Visit Rwanda raised concerns within Manzambi’s camp, given his family links to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Yahoo Sports reports those concerns have since eased as the move progresses toward completion.
With the medical underway, Villa are expected to confirm the signing in the coming days, adding further firepower to a rebuild that has already seen talks advance over Pervis Estupiñán and interest renewed in Galatasaray’s Gabriel Sara.
