Aston Villa transfer target Johan Manzambi is reportedly set to undergo his medical on Thursday ahead of his move from Freiburg.
The 20-year-old has caught the eye with his performances for club and country over the past year or so, as he has nine goals and 11 assists in 58 appearances at senior level for the Bundesliga outfit, while he’s bagged six goals in 16 caps for Switzerland.
His impressive form and potential were on show again this summer during the World Cup, and it appears as though the next chapter of his promising career is going to bring him to Villa.
Subscribe to Talk Villa+ below for ad-free weekly newsletters, exclusive articles and much more sent directly to you. The TalkVilla podcast is also now available, have a listen, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or YouTube. UTV!
According to Sky Sport Germany’s Florian Plettenberg, Manzambi will undergo his medical on Thursday ahead of formalising and completing his transfer to Villa, as he notes that the deal is done between the two clubs in a total package worth almost €70m including add-ons.
This comes after social media speculation on Tuesday night created concern over the deal potentially falling through, but this latest report would suggest that that is not the case and things are very much still on track for the Swiss international to become our marquee signing this summer.
Further, Villa have seemingly dropped a huge hint that he’s on his way, as having confirmed that Boubacar Kamara will wear the No.8 shirt moving forward, which was of course vacated after Youri Tielemans completed a move to Manchester United this week, that frees up the Frenchman’s former No.44 jersey.
It just so happens that that is the number that Manzambi wears at Freiburg, and so although it’s not exactly officially confirming the transfer, it’s another big indication that we may well be preparing for his arrival.
It’s hoped that there is no further speculation or issues and that the deal is completed this week, as Manzambi is seen as one of the top prospects in Europe, and with his physicality, athleticism, speed, technical ability and tenacity, he looks like a perfect fit for Unai Emery’s side, and hopefully he will be bolstering our squad sooner rather than later with our pre-season schedule getting underway next week.
He will of course be granted an extended break after his exploits at the World Cup, but an official announcement at least is hopefully not too far off now.