Aston Villa summer signing Johan Manzambi is a future Ballon d’Or candidate and is well on his way to making that a reality.
That’s at least the growing opinion in his native Switzerland, where they can’t stop singing the 21-year-old’s praises.
Manzambi has enjoyed a flying start to life at Aston Villa after moving to Villa Park in a €60m move in the summer. That came following an impressive World Cup for Switzerland, in which he earned himself plenty of admirers.
Most had expected him to endure a slow transition to life in the Premier League, but he has instead managed three goals and four assist in nine games in all competitions so far.
Swiss excitement
That’s not gone unnoticed back in his homeland. Sport Witness reported comments from former coach Federico Valente last month. He’s backing the youngster for a big move in future.
“A €60m price tag in the Premier League isn’t unreasonable for a 22-year-old with these kinds of technical and physical attributes,” he said.
“Under Unai Emery, Aston Villa plays an attacking, proactive style of football—it’s the perfect stepping stone.
“But if he can maintain this level of consistency, I could easily see him playing for a ‘top four’ side like Manchester City, Chelsea, or Tottenham. Could he become a world-class player? I truly believe so; he has exactly the right mentality.”
Ballon d’Or contender
Valente is not the only one impressed by what he’s seen. Martin Schmidt was busy watching the midfielder take on Barcelona in the Champions League this week.
And while that ended in a 3-0 defeat for Aston Villa, he was still impressed by Manzambi. So much so, he can see big honours in the future.
“He is still young, but he is well on his way,” he said on Blue Sport.
“Looking at the Ballon d’Or, I could imagine him one day reaching a level where he might be in contention for such an award.” German journalist Marcel Reif is equally in awe.
“He’s stepped in as if he’s spent his entire life playing in the Premier League,” he added.
They, like Valente, clearly believe that Aston Villa have a star on their hands. A star who, if things continue as they are, will be attracting interest from the biggest clubs in the world. And, potentially, find himself in the running for the big individual awards as well.
