The stunning display from Unai Emery’s Aston Villa 2.0 to put Manchester City to the sword at Villa Park on Saturday makes it hard to imagine why anyone playing under the best manager in the Premier League would ever want to leave.

Nicolas Jackson is making hay while enjoying the unconditional love of his manager and the fans. Owen Hargreaves is bang on in his assertion that Zion Suzuki plays as though he was “created in a lab”. Alysson looks like a clone of Morgan Rogers. Joao Gomes has added further energy and steel to the irrepressible midfield.

READ: Aston Villa and Nicolas Jackson punish Man City with more costly Guehi and Donnarumma mistakes

After a brief bedding-in period at the start of the season, they look as good as they’ve ever done after losing Rogers, Youri Tielemans and Ezri Konsa in the summer. The work Emery has done with the aid of his recruitment chiefs is nothing short of extraordinary.

One summer signing on the fast track to the top is Johan Manzambi. “He’s the real deal isn’t he Johan Manzambi, in and out of possession,” Hargreaves said on TNT Sports commentary. “He’s got everything.”

This wasn’t his most productive game in the final third. The £60m man had three goals and three assists in six games before the visit of City, against whom he displayed more of his out-of-possession quality.

No player on the pitch won a higher percentage of ground duels (6/8), completed four tackles and showed his commitment to the cause beyond doubt when he lost his boot in a tackle and carried it with him as he ran back to challenge City winger Iliman Ndiaye.

He’s very quickly established himself as a midfielder perfect for the rigours of the Premier League, in stark contrast to Liverpool counterpart Florian Wirtz, who continues to split opinion but who it’s fair to say has plenty still to prove at Anfield following his £100m move from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2025.

His struggles may go some way towards explaining Liverpool’s interest in Manzambi.

4-4-2 reported earlier this month that Liverpool chiefs who have ‘consistently spoken favourably about Manzambi’ will ‘monitor him throughout the entire season’.

And The Sun later claimed the Reds are keeping tabs on Manzambi ‘with a view to swooping for him next summer’ as ‘his form has impressed Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola and his coaching staff’.

Our friends at TEAMtalk claim Manzambi is ‘extremely happy with his decision to join Villa and work under Emery’.

The report added:

‘Indeed, we are told Manzambi believes he can learn an enormous amount from the Spanish coach and sees Villa as an ideal environment in which to continue his development before considering what the next step in his career might look like.’

The question is how long Villa will be able to keep Liverpool or the other suitors who are sure to arrive at bay.

Speaking about Manzambi last week, Emery appeared resigned to Villa being a stepping stone for the 21-year-old rather than a destination.

He said: “He’s a good guy, he’s very professional, he loves, with passion football. He wants to play in the way we are and the demand we have.

“He decided to join us in summer because he understood here he can progress, he can as well have his own challenges and quality challenges to improving in his career as a player.”

Whether they want him as a replacement for Wirtz or to play alongside him, the same upward trajectory for Manzambi in a team heading very much in the right direction means Liverpool would likely have to make him their fourth £100m signing.