Aston Villa have finalised the acquisition of midfielder Johan Manzambi from Freiburg, smashing their previous transfer record with a fee slightly above £50m.
The Swiss international heads to Villa Park in a move that surpasses the £50m sum they paid Everton for Amadou Onana two seasons ago.
Villa are also on the brink of securing a £38m deal for Wolves midfielder Joao Gomes, who departed the Championship outfit’s training base in Portugal on Thursday to undergo his medical.
Manzambi had been close to joining Newcastle only last week after the Magpies struck an agreement with Freiburg, but Villa acted swiftly and it was his favoured choice.
The 20-year-old netted three times for Switzerland as they advanced to the World Cup quarter-finals, where they were knocked out by Argentina.
He featured against Villa for Freiburg in the Europa League final in Istanbul back in May, when Unai Emery’s side triumphed 3-0 to end a three-decade wait for silverware.
Manzambi was voted the Europa League’s Young Player of the Season and found the net seven times in 47 appearances across all competitions last season, as Freiburg came seventh in the German Bundesliga.
His arrival comes as Villa require strengthening in midfield following the departure of Youri Tielemans to Manchester United for £35m after they activated the Belgium international’s release clause.
Onana is meanwhile sidelined until next year because of a serious knee injury sustained at the World Cup while playing for Belgium.
With finances under scrutiny to meet UEFA’s financial rules, left-back Lucas Digne is nearing a return to Paris Saint-Germain.
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