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A goal on his first Aston Villa start adds to Johan Manzambi’s rapid rise as Switzerland prepare to face Scotland.
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Johan Manzambi scored on his first start for Aston Villa, helping the club claim its first Premier League win of the season. The 20-year-old is due to face Scotland with Switzerland in the Nations League on Tuesday, two years after making his senior debut for Freiburg. [1]
Villa paid more than £50m for Manzambi this summer, BBC Sport reports, after he had made 47 club starts. He signed a five-year deal. Manzambi moved from Servette to Freiburg aged 17 in 2023 and was named the Europa League’s Young Player of the Season after Freiburg lost May’s final to Villa. [1]
He scored three goals in four games for Switzerland at the 2026 World Cup before a knee injury ended his tournament. Bernhard Weis, who coached him in Freiburg’s youth set-up, and Servette academy director Massimo Lombardo both told BBC Sport that the speed of his progress had surprised them. [1]
Freiburg have also begun the season strongly without him: they won six of seven matches in all competitions and went into the international break unbeaten and third in the Bundesliga. [1]
1 listed sources · explore evidence, limitations and provenance.
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