Analysis
Johan Manzambi proving one of best-value signings of summer transfer window for Aston Villa - The Radar
Johan Manzambi is the focus of The Radar column ahead of Aston Villa's meeting with Newcastle, live on Sky Sports on Saturday; Vitaly Janelt's superb start to the season at Brentford and Alvaro Arbeloa's plight at Fulham also feature
Thursday 15 October 2026 14:50, UK
Welcome to The Radar, a Sky Sports column in which Nick Wright uses a blend of data and opinion to shed light on need-to-know Premier League stories. This week:
🔺Manzambi's big impact at Villa
🔺Janelt's excellent defensive work
🔺A glimmer of hope for Arbeloa?
🔺A player to watch this weekend
Manzambi offering value for money
When Sky Sports strand Between the Lines conducted a study of transfer valuations relative to fees paid at the end of the summer, Johan Manzambi came out as one of the best-value signings, below only Marcos Senesi and Harry Wilson, two players signed for free.
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Manzambi, who had a market-adjusted value of £74.8m at the time of his £47m move from Eintracht Frankfurt to Villa Park, arrived with a knee injury and had to wait until mid-September for his debut. But he has wasted no time in making a positive impression.
The 21-year-old produced a goal and an assist on his full debut against Spurs and found the net for a second time in Villa's Champions League thrashing of Fenerbahce on Wednesday, having set up their second goal four days earlier against Brentford.
He is averaging 1.27 goal involvements per 90 minutes in all competitions, making him one of the most productive players in the Premier League in the early months of the campaign. He also drew the foul for Villa's penalty against Fenerbahce.
It is of course a small sample size. Manzambi has only played 284 minutes in all competitions. But he has a history of impacting games. Most notably, there were two goals in 19 minutes as a substitute in Switzerland's win over Bosnia and Herzegovina at the World Cup.
Manzambi finished the tournament with three goals and two assists in 200 minutes, with Villa subsequently pipping Newcastle, their opponents on Saturday, live on Sky Sports, to his signing. Manzambi can show his old suitors what they are missing at St James' Park.
Watching him, it is easy to seen why he was coveted. Manzambi is a whirlwind of activity in the final third, capable of moments of immense quality and undeterred when things don't come off.
Against Brentford, he had seven shots, the second most by any player in a Premier League game this season, and created three chances, giving him the second-highest combined total, too, behind only Bruno Fernandes' 11 in Manchester United's win over Ipswich.
His versatility was another part of his appeal to Unai Emery. Manzambi started off the left against Brentford but has otherwise been used as a No 10 and can also play deeper.
Against Fenerbahce, he floated between the lines, in the areas vacated by Morgan Rogers following his departure to Chelsea, and combined effectively with fellow summer signings Ibrahim Mbaye and Nicolas Jackson, his team-mates in a new-look front three.
Manzambi has big shoes to fill given the size of Rogers' contribution but he brings a broad range of qualities to the role.
Just before the half-hour mark on Wednesday night, in what was his first appearance at Champions League level, he could be seen picking the ball up on the left wing, muscling his marker to the turf, then dribbling infield, away from another defender, before threading a perfect through-ball into the path of a sprinting Mbaye.
It was all there in the passage of play: speed and strength but also guile and incision. Passes like the one for Mbaye have become a feature of Villa's play. According to Opta, Manzambi is top among Villa players for line-breaking passes leading to shots this term, despite playing fewer minutes than most of his team-mates.
He is also intelligent in his movement. Manzambi's goal against Fenerbahce, scored with the help of a deflection, came after he had calmy walked into a pocket of space in the box as the corner came in, away from the throng of bodies in the six-yard box.
His goal against Spurs, converted from close-range, came in similar circumstances after he pulled off the shoulder of Rodrigo Bentancur, giving himself room to dispatch Boubacar Kamara's cross-shot.
That knack for finding space in the box is another attribute which should help Villa as they aim to put a difficult start to the season behind them. It is no coincidence that their recent improvement coincides with Manzambi's introduction to the starting line-up.
Villa will hope he continues to look like one of the best-value signings of the summer against the club he spurned on Saturday.
Janelt's defensive excellence
Aston Villa are not the only side hoping to use a big Champions League win to build momentum. Liverpool are in the same position after putting six past LASK. But their trip to Brentford, whose midfield is being expertly anchored by Vitaly Janelt, will be tough.
Janelt has made a superb start to the season. "The levels that he's produced at this level, in the toughest league in the world, have been pretty remarkable," said Brentford boss Keith Andrews, speaking after the 28-year-old had earned a first Germany call-up from former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp in the recent international break.
Janelt made his debut as a late substitute against Serbia and will now look to pick up where he left off back at Brentford. He has contributed two goals during their unbeaten start to the campaign, beating his total for each of the last three seasons in the process.
It is out of possession, though, that he is most valuable to the side.
Janelt has made the most tackles and interceptions in the Premier League this season, his total of 38 putting him seven clear of any other player. He ranks third for distance covered behind only Brighton's Pascal Gross and Leeds's Anton Stach.
The numbers are impressive and so is the quality of his defensive work, according to Gradient Sports, who grade players based on the quality of their execution rather than raw outcomes.
Their data for 'challenges' shows he grades above the league average for players in his position this season in duels, one-vs-one defending, aerials, 50-50s, tackling and defending dribbles. His 50-50 execution grade of 84.2 out of 100 is the highest of all players.
Together with the addition of Mamadou Sangare in the summer, Janelt's form helps to explain how Brentford have become so difficult to beat, conceding only six goals in their first six Premier League games of the season, with Liverpool next.
Must-win for Arbeloa?
Alvaro Arbeloa's comments after Fulham's defeat to Ipswich last weekend, a version of "do you know who I am?", if you missed them, did not go down well with fans. Their head coach's illustrious past matters little to them with the side bottom of the table.
The late collapse at Portman Road continued their winless start and put them on eight points lost from winning positions. Saturday's visit of newly-promoted Hull already has the feel of a must-win game for Arbeloa, who has work to do to change the mood.
While results have been poor, he might take some encouragement from the underlying performance data. Fulham have actually outperformed their opponent in three of their last four games for expected goals. Their xG difference is roughly similar to Everton, Chelsea and Leeds, who sit fifth, sixth and seventh respectively.
In other words, their performances may not have been as bad as their results suggest. It is something to cling to for Arbeloa. But it doesn't lessen the importance of taking three points on Saturday.
Player Radar: Who else to keep an eye on
Ipswich face a daunting trip to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday but they have a young player to watch in 20-year-old Abdoul Ouattara, who scored his first goal for the club against Fulham from right-back following his summer arrival from Strasbourg.
Live Radar: What's on Sky this weekend?
Six Premier League games are live on Sky Sports over the weekend, starting with Newcastle United vs Aston Villa on Saturday evening.
On Super Sunday, Bournemouth vs Sunderland, Brighton vs Crystal Palace and Leeds United vs Man Utd kick-off at 2pm, before Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal at 4.30pm.
Tottenham vs Coventry City then rounds off the live action on Monday Night Football, kicking off at 8pm.
Read the last Radar column
Leeds striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin was the focus of the last column before the international break. There was also analysis of Brian Brobbey's outstanding hold-up play before his hat-trick for Sunderland against Manchester City.
