Henri Lansbury: Johan Manzambi reminds me of former Aston Villa teammate - Exclusive
Henri Lansbury has backed Johan Manzambi to fill the boots of a recent Aston Villa fan favourite.
It's all go at Villa Park right now as Unai Emery looks to prepare his side for a return to the Champions League.
That certainly hasn't been helped by the departure of Youri Tielemans to Manchester United.
The Belgian's move to Old Trafford appears to have sparked the Villans into life as many deals look set to go through.
Arguably the most exciting will see Manzambi come in from Freiburg after a superb World Cup campaign.
The Villa Park faithful are eagerly awaiting his arrival, a feeling that will be echoed if Lansbury is proven right in B6.
Henri Lansbury makes telling Johan Manzambi comparison at Aston Villa
It has been an action-packed few days for the claret and blue faithful.
That started with the Switzerland international and has since continued with Wolves star Joao Gomes.
Those pending deals have certainly gone down well as Lansbury told Villa News just how good Gomes, in particular, could be for Emery.
The 35-year-old has maintained a similar opinion of Manzambi as he looks set to seal a move.
Lansbury made 53 appearances in claret and blue, but has compared the 20-year-old to his former teammate Jacob Ramsey.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, Lansbury said: "Money has gone ridiculous in football these days, but he's probably at market value.
"He had a great World Cup and now he's coming into the Premier League, can he jump straight into it? That's going to be the question. I think it will show Unai's experience and knowledge of the game, what he sees in a player and what he can do with a player.
"Manzambi will bring a lot and something different. It's always good to have different abilities in a team. I think he brings his own style and he'll impress once he gets his foot in the door.
"He's very similar to Jacob Ramsey. Jacob's a great player and I can see similarities. Villa are spending and I hope it pays off for them."
Considering how highly thought of the Bodymoor Heath product was in B6, it would certainly be great to see how the imminent signing can compare.
How does Manzambi compare to Jacob Ramsey?
There was widespread disappointment when the Englishman departed for Newcastle United last summer.
It was a move indicative of the current financial landscape of football, that Lansbury described perfectly as "ridiculous".
Emery finally seems to have found an alternative to Ramsey a year later in the shape of Manzambi.
As per DataMB, the Swiss talent outperforms the ex-Villa man in plenty of important metrics.
The Freiburg man out performed Ramsey in duel win rate, possession won, forward passes and key passes.
What will certainly catch the eye in B6 is that the incoming midfielder completed 96 progressive carries compared to the Newcastle man's 73.8 last season.
That is a major step up and could prove to have a telling impact after close work under Emery in the Midlands.