How Aston Villa beat Newcastle to Johan Manzambi transfer: The inside story

Johan Manzambi was among Newcastle United and Aston Villa’s top targets. It meant a tussle of some sort was long foreseen. Led by their scouting and data departments, Villa were impressed by Manzambi and closely tracked him throughout last season — long before meeting him in the Europa League final against Freiburg in May, or his sparkling performances with Switzerland at the World Cup. Despite the ongoing skirmishes with financial regulations, Villa were willing to pay a sizeable fee for the 20-year-old midfielder. Manzambi’s arrival has the fingerprints of sporting director Roberto Olabe, who tasked his scouting and data departments…