Johan Manzambi Beat Newcastle After Turning Them Down for Villa’s Record Deal

• Johan Manzambi scored the only goal at Newcastle on Saturday, against the club he turned down before joining Aston Villa in a club record deal of £59.5m.
• The Switzerland midfielder turned 21 on Wednesday and has five goal involvements in Villa colours, behind only Erling Haaland among Premier League players from his first start.
• Nicolas Jackson praised him as “an amazing player” and said Sven Botman’s challenge on him in the same game “nearly broke my leg”.

He Looked Set for St James’ Park, Then Scored the Winner There

Johan Manzambi had looked set for a move to St James’ Park before he opted for Aston Villa in the summer. On Saturday he gave Newcastle a close look at what they missed. The midfielder headed in the only goal of a 1-0 Villa win, unmarked eight yards out when Joao Gomes found him with a cross.

It was his third goal in Villa colours, after strikes in the 3-2 win at Tottenham and the 6-0 Champions League thrashing of Fenerbahce. Manzambi turned 21 on Wednesday, and Villa paid a club record deal of £59.5m to land him.

Asked why he chose Villa, he pointed to a game he had played against them. “The team was very good and I played against them in the final,” Manzambi said. “It’s a very good team with a big coach and that was perfect for me.”

From the Europa League Final to the Centre of Emery’s Rebuild

That final was the Europa League decider in Istanbul, where Manzambi played a major role in getting Freiburg there before Villa won 3-0, scoring three times in the opening hour.

The Villa team that won that night has changed. Six of the starters, goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, defenders Lucas Digne and Ezri Konsa, midfielders Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers and striker Ollie Watkins, have left in high-profile moves. Substitutes Harvey Elliott, Jadon Sancho and Leon Bailey are also gone.

Unai Emery is happy with the replacement. “He has made a very good impact with his qualities,” Emery said. “Skills and intelligence, both he has, and his physicality is very important.” He added: “So happy he has scored another goal, fantastic for him.”

A Kopa Trophy Contender at 21

Manzambi’s numbers explain the attention. Among Bundesliga players in his position last season, he ranked first for progressive carries of 10 metres or more (116), shot-ending carries (13) and fouls won (78).

He then scored twice in Switzerland’s 4-1 World Cup win over Bosnia-Herzegovina, got a goal and an assist in the 2-1 win over co-hosts Canada and set up a goal in the 2-0 win over Algeria. A knee injury ruled him out of the last-16 penalty shootout win over Colombia and the quarter-final loss to Argentina.

He is now on a 10-man shortlist for the Kopa Trophy, which goes to the best player aged under 21. Spain World Cup winners Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi are on it, along with Yan Diomande, whose form earned him a move to Real Madrid. The winner will be named on 26 October.

From his first Villa start, against Spurs on 19 September, only Manchester City’s Erling Haaland has been involved in more goals among Premier League players in all competitions. Haaland has six. Manzambi has five, three goals and two assists.

Jackson Praises Him and Slams the Botman Challenge

Teammate Nicolas Jackson, who joined Villa from Chelsea in a deal worth up to £65m, was quick to praise Manzambi. “He’s an amazing player,” Jackson said. “He’s still growing. Hopefully he can be better and better every game, score goals and assist me as well.” He added: “He will go a long way and hopefully gets no injuries.”

Jackson has scored five times for Villa and said he was lucky to avoid a serious injury after Newcastle’s Sven Botman caught him in the first half. Botman was one of six Newcastle players cautioned and was shown only a yellow card for the over-the-ball challenge.

“I know the referee said yellow card but it was so high and hopefully maybe next time a red card, but it was a yellow,” Jackson said. “I nearly broke my leg but anyway it’s part of football. The most important thing is we win and we won, so I’m OK.”

Villa Recover From a Poor Start

Villa collected only one point from their first four league games. The win at Newcastle extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to five matches and lifted them to 12th in the Premier League. They also have six points from two Champions League ties.

Emery said the players pushed for the change themselves. “The players themselves tried to be demanding to change the situation where we are,” he said. He wants consistency in the league, which he called the competition where “we must try to be very consistent”.

Villa host Norwegian side Viking in the Champions League on Wednesday, then welcome a Manchester City side who have won all seven of their Premier League matches this season.