After the quarter-final match of 2026 FIFA World Cup between Argentina and Switzerland, a clip broke a new viral transfer leak.
While players were interacting on the pitch after full-time, cameras captured Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martínez having a conversation with Swiss midfielder, Johan Manzambi. The Argentine then seems to be seen asking, “You coming to Villa?”
In which Manzambi replies, “Yes,” as he nodded with a smile. Martínez then patted him on the chest before walking away.
You coming to Villa?
— EB10 (@astonvilla___) July 12, 2026
Yeah pic.twitter.com/4bdM4RlsWH
Internet users quickly lip-read the exchange, sparking a social media frenzy hours before David Ornstein published the definitive story on The Athletic on Sunday evening
As per The Athletic journalist David Ornstein‘s exclusive report, Aston Villa had hijacked Newcastle United’s €60 million deal. Newcastle United had already reached a full club-to-club agreement with SC Freiburg for the 20-year-old midfielder. However, they lacked the final player approval.
A verbal framework with the player were established, but Manzambi insisted on withholding his formal signature until Switzerland’s World Cup campaign concluded.
But on July 6, Villa’s star midfielder Amadou Onana suffered a ruptured ACL playing for Belgium against the USMNT in the Round of 16. With Onana sidelined for up to eight months, Unai Emery required an immediate elite replacement. Thus, hijacking the player from the Newcastle’s deal.
Villa outbid Newcastle on both the final transfer fee (structuring a deal slightly in excess of €60m) and salary parameters. The decisive factor was Villa’s qualification for the Champions League next season, whereas Newcastle had finished 12th in the Premier League.
Johan Manzambi is a 20-year Swiss central midfielder, born in Geneva. He developed his skills at Servette FC before moving to Germany in 2023 at Freiburg II. Then he moved to the team and scored once in 14 matches during the 2024-25 season.
His amazing breakout performance in the 2025-26 season, in which he scored 7 goals and had 9 assists in 47 appearances. This helped Freiburg reach the Europa League final.
Manzambi became a star at the 2026 FIFA World Cup by scoring three goals and creating two assists in four games for Switzerland before a knee injury ruling him out of the round-of-16 tie against Colombia and the quarter-final match against Argentina.
In the quarter-final Switzerland lost to Argentina for 3-1, after extra-time, knocking them out of the tournament.
