Johan Manzambi transfers from SC Freiburg to Aston Villa for up to 70 million euros

Until now, Kevin Schade and Merlin Röhl, with around 25 million euros each, had been considered the most expensive sales in Freiburg's club history. Schade had moved to Brentford, Röhl to Everton. With the Manzambi deal, this figure is now clearly exceeded. For SC Freiburg overall, it is also by far the most expensive transfer in the club's history.

Swiss record fee

Among Swiss national team players, Granit Xhaka had previously led the list, having moved from Borussia Mönchengladbach to Arsenal in 2016 for 45 million euros. Behind Xhaka followed Dan Ndoye, who moved from Bologna to Nottingham in 2025 for 42 million euros, and Ardon Jashari, who transferred from Club Brugge to AC Milan for 36 million euros. Breel Embolo had moved from Basel to Schalke in 2016 for 26.5 million euros. With the Manzambi transfer, Xhaka is now surpassed.

Initially, Newcastle United was considered the favorite for the signing of the 20-year-old. But in the end, Europa League winners Aston Villa from Birmingham won the race – precisely the club that had prevailed 3-0 against the now-selling SC Freiburg in the European final. So the Swiss already knows his new employer as an opponent.

From U19 player to key performer

Manzambi moved in January 2023 as a 17-year-old youth player from Servette Geneva to the Dreisam. After half a year in Freiburg's U19, he gained early playing experience in physical men's football with the Sport-Club's third-division and Regionalliga squad. This was followed by a "trial phase" with eleven games in the 2024/25 season under the new coach Julian Schuster, before he made the leap to a regular starter in the past season and toward the end of the campaign to a key performer in the creative midfield.

In total, Manzambi has 38 Bundesliga and 15 European cup appearances with 18 scorer points for SC Freiburg. He was also a central figure in the Europa League, in which Freiburg was only stopped by Aston Villa 0-3 in the final in Istanbul. Tall, agile and incredibly dynamic, the midfielder developed in the Bundesliga second half of the season into one of the difference-makers of the Breisgau club.

At the World Cup in North America, Manzambi had caused a stir with three goals and two assists before being slowed down by an injury. He only made his debut for the national team in summer 2025, after previously only having been part of the regular squad in Freiburg since spring 2025. He was also an assist provider in Switzerland's 2-0 round-of-16 victory over Algeria.

Voices on the departure

In a match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, when things were not looking good for Switzerland, he came on after 72 minutes. In the end it was 4:1 for Switzerland. "Als ich zum Beispiel fünf Jahre alt war, habe ich mit Jungs gespielt, die 13 oder 14 Jahre alt waren", Manzambi once told SWR Sport. "Ich denke, das hat mir schon geholfen."

Freiburg's board member Jochen Saier commented on the departure of the homegrown player: "Nach wirklich intensiven Gesprächen und Verhandlungen in den vergangenen Wochen profitieren beide Seiten von der gefundenen Lösung." The club also referred to the shared path from the U19 to the Europa League final, which had been "sowohl für Johan als auch für uns besonders".

Engelhardt as a possible successor

As a replacement for Manzambi, Freiburg has set their sights on former German youth international Yannik Engelhardt, who played for the SC second team between 2021 and 2023. Engelhardt is currently still under contract at Como 1907 in Italy; he was loaned out to Borussia Mönchengladbach last season.

Manzambi himself had once said in an interview: "Als ich Kind war, habe ich immer auf diesem Platz gespielt - ohne Rasen." The path from a kid kicking a ball around in Geneva to a Swiss record transfer is closely linked to SC Freiburg's consistent youth development policy, which is rightly praised as a top talent factory. Once again, the club had the right instinct when it brought the highly talented 17-year-old from Servette to the Dreisam in January 2023.

With the move to Birmingham, Manzambi is now setting his own pace, something he has already demonstrated more often in his young career. He will be a footballer around whose neck hangs a price tag of 70 million euros – and, alongside coach Unai Emery in the Premier League and in the Champions League, will be seeking a new challenge.

Outlook on the Premier League

The news was broadcast on 17.07.2026 on the Deutschlandfunk program. SC Freiburg is thus losing a player who, over the past year and a half, had developed into the most valuable asset of the team both in sporting and financial terms. The club had not only tied down the youngster for the long term in sporting terms, but also contractually, before the lucrative sale was now realized.

For Aston Villa, Manzambi is the first big transfer coup of the new season following the Europa League triumph over Freiburg. The club from Birmingham, which prevailed 3-0 against the Breisgau side in the European final, is thus securing an exceptional talent who has already demonstrated his quality in the Bundesliga and in European competition. The transfer underlines the growing attractiveness of the Premier League for young top European talents.

Overall, the transfer shows how strongly the economic conditions in top European football have shifted. Where sums around 25 million euros were still considered record figures ten years ago, today's top transfers of young players quickly move into regions that once seemed reserved for world stars. Freiburg is participating in this development – and can reinvest the proceeds in new players such as Engelhardt.