Aston Villa have completed the signing of midfielder Johan Manzambi from Freiburg for a club record fee of just over £50m, beating Newcastle United who had agreed a deal with the German side last week. The 20-year-old Switzerland international, who scored three goals at the World Cup and was named Europa League Young Player of the Season, was on the verge of joining the Magpies before Villa moved quickly and became his preferred destination.
Manzambi’s arrival eclipses the £50m Villa paid Everton for Amadou Onana two years ago. He joins a side that beat his former club Freiburg 3-0 in the Europa League final in Istanbul in May, ending Villa’s 30-year trophy drought. Unai Emery’s side are also close to completing the £38m signing of Wolves midfielder Joao Gomes, who left the Championship club’s training camp in Portugal on Thursday to undergo a medical.
“Villa sign Manzambi for club record £50m; Liverpool told to prioritize right flank.”
Villa needed midfield reinforcements after selling Youri Tielemans to Manchester United for £35m when United triggered his release clause. Onana is out until next year after suffering a serious knee injury at the World Cup with Belgium. With Villa’s finances tight as they seek to comply with Uefa regulations, left-back Lucas Digne is close to rejoining Paris St-Germain.
Meanwhile, Liverpool are preparing for their pre-season friendly against Sunderland in Nashville next Saturday, but former Reds midfielder Jason McAteer has urged the club to prioritise upgrades down the right flank. Speaking to Mirror Football, McAteer said: “I think the areas of concern are down Liverpool’s right-hand side, having lost Trent [Alexander-Arnold] two seasons ago. It vacated a big, big space which we obviously thought Conor Bradley would slot into. You felt Conor was ready to go into that position but unfortunately through injury and performances he’s not been able to do that. And then Jeremie Frimpong came in. He’s not an ideal right-back in defensive situations. He’s more of a wing-back, more of an attacking player. So he’s had to fill in and we’ve had [Dominik] Szoboszlai play right-back too so it’s not been great. I think that had unsettled Salah as well and then Salah’s obviously gone. So that right-hand side is an area we need to strengthen, both in the full-back and the wide position.”
Liverpool have already signed Jeremy Jacquet and Victor Munoz this summer, with Munoz capable of playing on the right wing, but McAteer’s comments come amid rumours linking the Reds with Yan Diomande and Bradley Barcola as more prestigious candidates to fill the void left by Mohamed Salah’s departure.