Johan Manzambi fires Newcastle United warning ahead of Aston Villa visit to St James' Park
Johan Manzambi rejected the opportunity to join Newcastle United in the summer in favour of joining Aston Villa.
Johan Manzambi had verbally agreed to join Newcastle United from Freiburg in the summer, only to join Aston Villa instead.
The Magpies had identified the 21-year-old as a top midfield target as he shone in the World Cup for Switzerland. A deal had been lined up for Manzambi to make the move to St James’ Park before Villa swooped in to hijack the transfer with the added pull of Champions League football.
And that’s where Manzambi made his mark on Wednesday night, opening the scoring in Villa’s 6-0 win over Fenerbahce. Next up is a trip to Newcastle on Saturday (5:30pm kick-off).
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The Swiss international has scored twice in five appearances since joining Villa for a club record £59.5million fee. His performance on Wednesday night was a warning as he’ll now be keen to show just what Newcastle have missed out on this weekend.
Newcastle bolstered their midfield with the signings of Nico Gonzalez, Sean Steur and Aladji Bamba over the summer. But Gonzalez and Steur are yet to start together, and Bamba is yet to start at all.
Manzambi’s attacking mentality and ability to drive the ball forward would have likely made him a valuable addition to Newcastle’s midfield.
Unai Emery’s side head into the match three points behind Newcastle in the Premier League table but knowing that a win by more than one goal would see them leapfrog their opponents. Last season, Villa ended a 21-year wait for a win at St James’ Park with a 2-0 victory with goals from Emi Buendia and Ollie Watkins.
Despite Villa recording their biggest ever Champions League win on Wednesday night, Emery was immediately looking ahead to Saturday’s match at St James’ Park.
“My focus is on Saturday against Newcastle and the players must be so, so focused for it, and keep improving things and working things every day to try to get better,” Emery said.
“Some [players], they are progressively getting better and showing it like [Ibrahim] Mbaye, like Manzambi – of course, after his injury, he is progressively feeling comfortable; he scored a goal.
“Nicolas Jackson, as well, he is feeling better and better. But we need more players. We need as well in different competitions to be trying to be focused and demanding in the direction we want to build for this season.”