Johan Manzambi reveals the reason he joined Aston Villa after rejecting Newcastle United
Johan Manzambi turned down a move to Newcastle United in favour of joining Aston Villa.
Johan Manzambi believes joining Aston Villa is the “perfect plan” after turning down a move to Newcastle United
Newcastle reached a £49million agreement with Freiberg to sign Manzambi but were told by the player’s camp they had to wait until his participation at the World Cup was over before finalising a deal.
That led the Magpies to suspect that Manzambi was keeping his options open, and that is what came to pass.
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Less than 24 hours after Switzerland were beaten by Argentina in the quarter-final stage last Sunday, it emerged that the 20-year-old midfielder had opted to join Aston Villa.
Villa made their approach over the weekend after Amadou Onana picked up a serious knee injury at the World Cup, while knowing Youri Tielemans was about to join Manchester United.
Johan Manzambi reveals why he joined Aston Villa
Explaining his decision to move to Villa Park, Manzambi said; “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.
“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 teammates. 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.
“I’m very excited to be here and we know that together we can do big things. I’m very excited to play in Villa Park.”
Newcastle United exploring other midfield targets
Newcastle have moved onto other midfield targets and are understood to have held talks with Tottenham Hotspur over a move for Swedish midfielder Lucas Bergvall.
According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, the Magpies have had a £46million bid rejected. Spurs have also previously turned down a £38million offer from Nottingham Forest.
It comes after Newcastle sold Sandro Tonali to Spurs for £100million earlier this month.