Freiburg boss Schuster backs Manzambi to thrive after Villa move

SC Freiburg manager Julian Schuster believes Aston Villa will enjoy working with Johan Manzambi after the 20-year-old marked his first Premier League start with a goal and an assist against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.

Speaking to Swiss outlet Bluewin, as reported by Birmingham Live, Schuster admitted he had hoped to retain the midfielder beyond the summer window. He acknowledged, however, that strong performances, clear potential for improvement and the player's age combined to make a departure highly likely once interest emerged.

Manzambi arrived at Villa Park in July for a fee of £52 million, having previously helped Freiburg reach the Europa League final before representing Switzerland at the World Cup, where he recorded five goal involvements across four appearances. A knee injury sustained during the tournament delayed his introduction to English football, and he returned to action only nine days before the trip to north London.

His immediate impact at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was notable. Manzambi became only the second Villa player to register both a goal and an assist on a maiden Premier League start when he opened the scoring in the 2-3 away victory. Nicolas Jackson and Emi Buendia added further goals in the second half to secure Unai Emery's first league win of the campaign.

Schuster reflected on the difficulty of holding onto a player attracting significant attention. He noted that contractual matters were manageable but that any club wanting to sign the midfielder would inevitably face a substantial asking price given his trajectory.

The Freiburg head coach also described how intense media scrutiny can accelerate a transfer once a young player begins performing consistently at a high level. He characterised Manzambi as someone capable of deciding matches and expressed confidence that those qualities will translate to the Premier League.

For Villa, the early returns on their summer investment are encouraging. With the transfer window now closed until January 2027, Emery can focus on integrating Manzambi fully into his plans ahead of next month's home fixture against Brentford.