Six goals. One night. And a 21-year-old who spent most of it making seasoned defenders look like they’d left their boots in the dressing room.
Aston Villa battered Fenerbahce 6-0 in the Champions League on Wednesday, and Johan Manzambi sat right at the heart of it. He marked his 21st birthday by thumping home the opener, then won a penalty, then started the move that let Ross Barkley score twice. Not a bad way to blow out the candles.
Trouble is, other people noticed too. The Sun reports that Liverpool are plotting a raid, with Swiss insiders claiming Anfield chiefs will track his progress all season before making a move next summer. Boss Andoni Iraola and his coaches are said to be keen admirers.
Why the fuss? Manzambi cost £59.5m from Freiburg in the summer, a record for Villa, and he’s already repaid some of it. He scored against Tottenham in his first Premier League start last month. For Switzerland he’s even sharper, with seven goals in 20 caps, including three at the World Cup in June. Two came in a 4-1 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, another beat Canada, and the latest arrived in a 3-0 Nations League win over North Macedonia. That’s a big price tag for a lad who has only just turned 21.
Liverpool see him as a possible successor to Alexis Mac Allister, whom Real Madrid reportedly admire. Iraola likes his teams to press hard and attack in straight lines, and Manzambi carries the ball well, arrives late in the box and doesn’t mind chasing back. That looks a decent match on paper. Swiss players have history at Anfield too, with Xherdan Shaqiri, Stephane Henchoz and Philipp Degen all wearing red.
Over at Villa, the picture looks different. Barkley, John McGinn and earlier Youri Tielemans have shared the central minutes, and Unai Emery has never been shy about rotating them. Barkley’s brace on Wednesday only made the competition tougher. Manzambi still has to prove he’s a regular rather than a spark off the bench, yet every start so far has arrived with a headline attached.
Emery won’t hear a word about Liverpool, of course. He’s too busy planning the next game.
Should Aston Villa sell Manzambi if Liverpool bid next summer?
Villa should keep him, and Emery would say so in about four words. A £59.5m record signing doesn’t arrive to leave twelve months later. Emery builds sides around players he can coach every day, and Manzambi, 21, still has plenty of improvement left. He has already scored in the league, run a Champions League night and bossed games for Switzerland. Selling now would mean paying that price again for a replacement with no guarantee of the same upside.
Money matters, though. Villa have profit and sustainability rules to respect, and a bid near £80m would test everyone’s patience. A £20million-plus profit in a year looks smart on a spreadsheet. Yet Emery doesn’t win trophies with spreadsheets. He wins them with midfielders who press, carry and score. Barkley and McGinn bring experience, not that same mix of legs and goals.
Villa should say no next summer unless Liverpool pay silly money, and even then Emery asks for a replacement of equal quality before he signs off. The decision starts with his view, not the board’s. Liverpool can watch all season if they like. Until Manzambi says otherwise, he’s staying put in claret and blue.
