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 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. 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.
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.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
