How Manzambi became one of Europe's best young talents

In just two years Johan Manzambi has gone from being an unknown teenager to a European star. The 20-year-old could be named young talent of the year at the Ballon d'Or ceremony next month having only made his senior debut for Freiburg in 2024. A breakout season in Germany last term convinced Villa to pay more than £50m for a player with just 47 club starts. Manzambi scored on his full Villa debut to help secure a first Premier League win of the season and now faces Scotland with Switzerland in the Nations League on Tuesday looking to continue his progression. Vega hails Yakin and Manzambi as Swiss head for Hampden Villa complete club record Manzambi signing Rapid rise a surprise to former coaches Manzambi is already in the discussion with fellow nominees Lamine Yamal of Barcelona, Real Madrid's Yan Diomande and new Manchester City midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi for the best young player in the world award. He scored three goals in four games for Switzerland at the World Cup before a knee injury ended his tournament, only a year after making his full international debut. It is a rapid rise for a player who used to return to Freiburg's academy to do his washing. Bernhard Weis, who gave Manzambi his debut for Freiburg Under-19s, told BBC Sport: "He is playing for the professionals and he comes to us at the academy and brings some dirty clothes. "He didn't have a washing machine so he comes here and washes some clothes. "I would speak with him and then he would pick up some young guys from the under-13s, under-14s and take them to the train station. "He would see the guys and say, 'come with me, I'll take you to the station', so they could get home. That's Johan Manzambi." As for his profile, though, Weis did not expect a Ballon d'Or nomination coming so quickly. He added: "I didn't see that. I saw something for the first team, for us, but this way, no chance. "The first half year at Freiburg it was not so easy for him, he's not so strong and he's not so stable. He put on five kilos and then he thought, 'now I go, it's the right moment, I will be faster and stronger'. Massimo Lombardo, Servette's academy director agreed. He first worked with Manzambi when he was 15 and oversaw his early development before he moved to Freiburg as a 17-year-old in 2023. "It is a real surprise for many people, that he can do something special so quickly," he told BBC Sport. "For me, the difference he can make is because of his mentality, personality, enthusiasm and courage. He has the technical skills and tactical skills and the physical possibility now to perform in England. Why Newcastle target Manzambi is in demand Manzambi made his senior Switzerland debut against Mexico in June 2025 [Getty Images] "Mentally he was always a player who, when he came into the training session and games, always wanted to do something important. You can see that as a player who starts with Freiburg, he took his chance. "I can remember his second game with Switzerland, against the USA and he scored. It was always important for him to come into the game and to do something." Last season Manzambi was named the Europa League's Young Player of the Season, as Freiburg lost the final to Villa in May . He scored 12 goals in 61 appearances and Weis, now Freiburg II boss, has watched him develop, with Manzambi also learning German in three months. It helped him swiftly move from the academy to the first team, making his debut against Heidenheim a year after joining. Weis described him a "difference maker" and, among players in the Bundesliga in his position last season, Manzambi ranked first for 10-plus metre progressive carries (116), shot-ending carries (13) and fouls won (78). Villa knew he would move this summer so it was a case of now or never for Emery. Had he gone to Newcastle instead they believed his next move would put him out of their financial reach. The Magpies were always wary of being hijacked, having previously lost Victor Munoz to Liverpool and, while they agreed a deal with Freiburg, they never got a yes from Manzambi. Villa then turned the versatile forward into the most expensive Swiss player in history - surpassing Granit Xhaka's £38.25m move from Borussia Mönchengladbach to Arsenal 10 years ago. Yet, despite signing a five-year deal, Weis backed him to make the next step quickly. "I think Aston Villa is the right club for him. He will play every time when he is fit and that's the right way. Then I think he plays two seasons at Villa and then he goes to the next step," he added. "After the World Cup I said he must go to the Premier League. Bayern Munich were mentioned, he didn't go to [Borussia] Dortmund, [Bayer] Leverkusen. It's the right way." 'A young player who wanted to do something special' Freiburg have made light of Manzambi's absence and went into the international break unbeaten and sitting third, having topped the Bundesliga after three straight opening wins. Without him they have won six of their seven games in all competitions, scoring 24 goals, and boss Julian Schuster said earlier this month he had hoped to keep the player. It was the same for Lombardo at Servette, who fought to keep their young talent, but the former Switzerland international admitted Manzambi had made the right decisions. "We wanted him to stay with us, we gave him a contract but he wouldn't sign and history would say it's a good way, he came to Freiburg and played with the under-19s and was always improving," said the ex-Perugia midfielder. "Then Johan came into the first team and performed so well he started to play from the beginning and the coach couldn't move him from the starting XI. "With us he was incredible, he wanted to stay on the pitch to improve, to stay in the games and he had a lot of personality at 15. You can see into a group of young players who has the personality to speak. "He has a lot of personality. Other players were stronger and quicker but he trained with enthusiasm and I saw a young player who wanted to do something special."