Aston Villa's transfer window has come to life in the most dramatic fashion. Their move for Johan Manzambi came as an undeniable shock, especially for Newcastle United, but things quickly began to make sense when news emerged of Youri Tielemans' exit to Manchester United.
Losing the Belgian for just £35m after the Red Devils triggered his release clause, Villa are now out for revenge and have set their sights on hijacking United's move for AS Roma's Manu Kone.
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Aston Villa have got instant revenge in mind and could complete their rapid-fire midfield reshuffle by landing Kone's signature.
Aston Villa launch Man Utd hijack to sign Kone
According to Corriere dello Sport, as relayed by Sport Witness, Aston Villa have now made an approach to sign Kone, attempting to hijack Man United's move for the Frenchman.
manu-kone-as-roma
The Red Devils have already made contact, themselves, and reports are claiming that they're willing to pay around €50m (£43m) to sign the midfielder this summer.
As things stand, though, Roma are standing firm on their asking price - demanding as much as €60m (£51m) to part ways with Kone even amid their FFP issues.
Kone would be the perfect partner for Manzambi
In two moves, Aston Villa can hand Unai Emery an instant midfield rebuild.
Losing Tielemans is undoubtedly a blow, as if losing Amadou Onana to an ACL injury, but Manzambi and Kone would be the perfect partnership. The duo balance each other so well.
Whilst the former is more of a luxury player, unlocking defences with plenty of freedom, Kone provides the stability for those exact players to thrive, notably celebrated by Rio Ferdinand as "France's best midfielder at the World Cup". It's perfect for Villa.
2026 World Cup Manzambi Kone
Minutes 200 341
Goals 3 0
Defensive contributions 3 11
Recoveries 5 21
Chances created 3 3
There's still a long way to go before Villa complete their hijack, but Kone is undoubtedly one to watch.