Swiss attacking midfielder Johan Manzambi, aged 20, is leaving SC Freiburg to join Aston Villa in the Premier League. The deal, completed on 17 July 2026, is worth around €70 million including bonuses and stands as the most expensive signing in the English club's history, fresh from winning the Europa League.
The move had been in the air for days. Manzambi appeared destined for Newcastle United before Aston Villa tabled the decisive offer, snatching the player from their league rivals. For Freiburg it is a record windfall: their previous biggest sales were Kevin Schade (Brentford) and Merlin Röhl (Everton), each for €25 million. The German club had extended Manzambi's contract only a year earlier, before watching the talent explode and drag the team to the Europa League final.
The breakthrough came on the stage of the 2026 World Cup. In Switzerland's colours, Manzambi scored three goals and provided two assists, bowing out in the quarter-finals against holders Argentina (a 3-1 extra-time defeat) because of a knee contusion that had also kept him out of the round of 16 against Colombia.
