Why Aston Villa want to sign £42m star

For the second time in five years, the Aston Villa hierarchy find themselves asking the same question – how do we go about replacing one of our star players?

Morgan Rogers is set to join fellow Premier League side Chelsea for a reported £117m – surpassing the Villans’ record sale of £100m for Jack Grealish back in the summer of 2021.

Whilst the deal yields a £102m profit on their investment from February 2024, it leaves Unai Emery and Co with the prospect of replacing the England international.

Efforts have already been made over the last couple of weeks, which has seen one talent already complete a big-money move to Villa Park ahead of the 2026/27 campaign.

What Villa fans can expect from Johan Manzambi in 2026/27

Last week, it was confirmed that Aston Villa had completed the club-record £52m signing of midfielder Johan Manzambi from Bundesliga side Freiburg.

The Villans supporters may have seen glimpses of his quality at the World Cup for Switzerland, but what can they expect from him after his big-money transfer?

The 20-year-old is primarily a box-to-box midfielder, but is more than capable of operating in a more advanced number ten position – or even in any of the wide attacking roles.

Despite his tender age, he’s developed a reputation for being a remarkable all-round talent – as seen in his stats from his most recent campaign in Germany’s top division.

Manzambi completed a staggering tally of 1.4 successful dribbles per 90 last term, whilst also registering 2.1 shots per 90 – highlighting his ability to drive through the thirds and trouble the ‘keeper.

Both of the aforementioned tallies ranked him in the top 5% of midfielders across the continent, with no other player on the books in the West Midlands managing to register more.

Without the ball, the Swiss youngster also managed to catch the eye, as he came out on top of a remarkable 7.7 ground duels per 90 and achieved a success rate of 59%.

Like his numbers in possession, he ranked above 90% of other players in his position for the aforementioned figures – demonstrating the box-to-box demon Emery’s side have landed.

Why Villa’s latest target would make Manzambi unstoppable

Despite the recent move for Manzambi, Villa’s recruitment drive has shown no signs of slowing down of late – as seen by the £38m deal to land Joao Gomes this week.

The Brazilian international has arrived from West Midlands rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers to provide needed quality and depth to the club’s midfield department.

He and the Swiss international could well be the starting deep-lying options in Emery’s system, but they could be joined by not just one winger in Alejandro Garnacho but a second wide forward in Jonathan Rowe come the start of the upcoming season.

It’s been reported by TEAMtalk in recent days that the Villans have been in discussions with Bologna over a potential deal to land the 23-year-old English attacker.

They also confirm that Chelsea are keen to secure his signature despite the move for Rogers, with a £42m price tag being mooted to secure the forward’s signature this window.

Such a figure may prove to be an expensive one given Villa’s recent movement in the market, but it’s a deal which the hierarchy should be pulling out all the stops for.

Like Manzambi, Rowe featured against Emery’s men during their Europa League-winning campaign, causing his side no end of trouble and even netting in the quarter-final clash.

However, his underlying stats from such a campaign only add to the argument as to why a deal should be agreed for the Englishman – which could lead to a superb partnership between him and the Swiss star.

The Bologna star managed to create an impressive tally of 1.7 chances per 90 in Serie A last term – subsequently highlighting his tremendous ability to create opportunities for those around him.

Manzambi could be the beneficiary of such numbers at Villa Park next term, with the midfielder able to get on the end of his crosses with his infamous box-crashing runs.

Equally, Rowe would be able to benefit from the midfielder’s chance creation ability, which could see him add to his tally of eight goals across all competitions last campaign.

Such a situation would see the club-record addition bolstering his own assist tally and allow him to prove why the hierarchy made the right call in spending the big bucks on his signature.

Whilst both players would cost just shy of £100m this summer, deals for Rowe and Manzambi would inject the needed quality Emery is hunting for after last season’s success.

The pair would have the perfect opportunity to form a deadly partnership in England’s top flight and help the Villans further establish themselves as one of the division’s most feared opponents.