'Barcelona and Real Madrid already looking' at Johan Manzambi - ex-Aston Villa scout
Barcelona and Real Madrid are among the clubs already looking closely at Johan Manzambi after he made an extremely impressive start to his Aston Villa career.
That is according to former senior Villa scout, Bryan King, speaking exclusively to Football Insider.
The 21-year-old, who cost the Villans just over £50million to sign from Freiburg this summer, scored his third goal for the club against Newcastle United in a 1-0 win on Saturday.
In just six appearances across all competitions, Manzambi has already scored three goals and provided two assists, making the adaptation to the Premier League look easy.
The midfielder is under contract until 2031 and Villa will be under no pressure to let go of him anytime soon, but his line of potential suitors already speaks to just how impressive he has been.
Transfer chiefs at Villa Park may well already be eyeing a potential future record sale, after Morgan Rogers' £117m move to Chelsea smashed their record in July.
Ex-Villa scout 'very impressed' by Johan Manzambi
It was clear during the World Cup that whoever did manage to get their hands on Manzambi would be signing a seriously talented player.
In just four matches and two starts for Switzerland, the midfielder scored three goals and provided two assists, alerting clubs across Europe.
Newcastle looked to be at the head of the queue but dawdled, allowing Villa to storm in and pay what Freiburg were looking for.
"He seems to bring a new look into Aston Villa's midfield. He gets himself forward, as he's shown. He can score goals," King told Football Insider.
"Very impressed. Very impressed with his first six or seven games. He's just 21 years old."
"Barcelona and Real Madrid are looking at him already. So, these links come when a player's doing well, and he's certainly doing well.
"He's been a pleasant surprise for the Premier League and certainly for Villa. Great energy, I'm sure of that."
Unai Emery raves over Manzambi
Villa will be keen to protect Manzambi from the high expectations that are already being placed upon him, but it is hard to ignore the excitement.
"He's a good guy, he's very professional, he loves, with passion football. He wants to play in the way we are and the demand we have," Unai Emery said on Saturday.
"He decided to join us in summer because he understood here he can progress, he can as well have his own challenges and quality challenges to improving in his career as a player."
Manzambi will hope to continue to impress in the coming matches, with Villa already preparing to brace for rival interest.