Johan Manzambi has the chance to show Newcastle exactly what they missed out on

I think Johan Manzambi is going to be one of the most interesting players to watch when Aston Villa travel to Newcastle on Saturday, not just because of how well he's started his career at Villa, but because there was a point during the summer when it looked increasingly likely that he'd be playing for Newcastle rather than against them this weekend.

It was widely expected at one stage that Manzambi would end up at St James' Park, with Newcastle seemingly in a strong position to complete the deal, but Villa were working away in the background and eventually managed to get him through the door. Given everything that was happening at both clubs during the summer, I think it's quite an interesting transfer to revisit now, particularly when you consider just how quickly he's settled into life under Unai Emery.

I'm sure Champions League football played a part in his decision, and I'd imagine the opportunity to work with Emery was a pretty significant attraction as well. Both clubs were going through major changes, both had lost important players and both were trying to put together squads capable of remaining competitive, but Villa had the advantage of an established manager who'd already demonstrated exactly what he could achieve at the club.

Whether that ultimately influenced Manzambi's decision, I don't know, but I do think it's another example of how important Emery is when it comes to attracting players to Villa, particularly younger footballers who can see what he's done with others and recognise the opportunity to develop under him.

Whatever the reasons behind the move, I don't think anybody could have expected Manzambi to settle quite as quickly as he has. He's only just turned 21, he's come into a team that has undergone enormous changes and he's already playing with the sort of confidence and understanding that you'd ordinarily associate with somebody who'd been at the club for considerably longer.

I've been so impressed with him, and what I particularly like is that he isn't somebody whose contribution can be reduced to one particular part of the game. We obviously talk about the attacking qualities because he's been producing moments of real quality in the final third, but there's so much more to what he offers than goals, assists or the things that tend to get clipped up and shared around social media.

For me, he's a six, an eight and a ten rolled into one, and I don't mean that he should necessarily be playing in all three positions for Villa. It's more that he's got elements of all three roles within his game, even when Emery is using him as one of the attacking midfielders.

He's got the technical ability and awareness to receive the ball in advanced areas, he can carry possession and make things happen around the opposition penalty area, but he's also got the energy, discipline and defensive understanding to influence the game much further back.

There was a moment against Fenerbahce on Wednesday that summed that up quite nicely, when Fred was looking to carry the ball out of midfield and Manzambi stepped in with a standing tackle around the centre of the pitch. It wasn't necessarily the sort of moment that would dominate the highlights after Villa had scored six goals, but it was exactly the kind of contribution that can make such a difference to how a team functions.

When you've got somebody operating in an attacking position who can recognise those situations, win possession cleanly and immediately help turn defence into attack, it gives the whole side another dimension. It's particularly valuable in an Emery team because of how much responsibility he places on his attacking players without the ball, and I think Manzambi has already shown that he's capable of meeting those demands.

What makes him even more exciting is that he can produce those defensive contributions without losing any of the freedom or unpredictability that makes him such an interesting attacking player. There are footballers who look brilliant when you put together a highlights package but perhaps don't contribute enough over the course of 90 minutes, whereas Manzambi seems to be involved in so many different aspects of the game.

He's capable of doing something unexpected in possession, but he's also prepared to do the less glamorous work, and I think that's why he's going to become such an important player for Emery.

Wednesday was another example of that, with Manzambi getting himself into the right position to score after Villa reacted to the second ball from a corner. The finish took a deflection, but I thought his movement and awareness were important, and it's another indication of how he can influence games in different ways.

I've also been really encouraged by the understanding he's developing with Ibrahim Mbaye, particularly given how young both players are and how little football they've played together. Against Fenerbahce, they were comfortable interchanging positions and operating in different areas without constantly getting in each other's way, and I thought that contributed enormously to the fluidity of Villa's attacking performance.

It's one thing having talented individuals, but getting them to understand when to move, when to hold their positions and when to create space for somebody else is another matter entirely. That relationship already looks promising, and with Nicolas Jackson providing the focal point ahead of them, I think there's a lot to be excited about in terms of how Villa's attack might develop over the coming months.

Saturday will provide a different sort of examination, though, because Newcastle are going to be desperate to get a result at home, and I imagine Manzambi will receive a fairly hostile reception given how close he appeared to be to joining them during the summer.

I'm not particularly concerned about that, because he hasn't looked like somebody who gets overwhelmed by occasions so far. He's already played in some important matches for Villa, he's been involved regularly for Switzerland and he's shown a maturity that makes it quite easy to forget just how young he is.

What will be interesting is how he performs against a Newcastle midfield that has undergone almost as much change as Villa's own. They've lost some enormously important players, including Bruno Guimarães and Sandro Tonali, and have brought in a number of younger footballers who are still finding their feet in the Premier League.

I actually quite like some of Newcastle's recruitment, but as I've discussed ahead of this game, I think there's a difference between signing talented young players who might ordinarily be given time to develop at clubs such as Brighton or Brentford and asking them to come straight into a team where several established players have departed.

Villa have been through a similar process, but Manzambi is probably one of the best examples of why I'm so encouraged by the business we've done. He's young enough to have an enormous amount of development ahead of him, but he's already making a substantial contribution to the first team, and that's a difficult balance to find in the transfer market.

I think there are still things he'll improve as he gains more experience, and there will inevitably be games where he doesn't have quite the same influence as he has during these opening weeks. That's perfectly normal for somebody who has only just turned 21, particularly when he's being asked to contribute in several different phases of play.

However, the speed at which he's adapted has been remarkable, and I don't think it's surprising that supporters of other clubs are beginning to take notice of what he's doing. Villa fans have already taken to him enormously, and when you consider the circumstances in which he arrived, that's a pretty impressive achievement.

The Premier League results haven't been what we'd have wanted so far, but Manzambi has been one of the biggest positives of the season, and I think he's only going to become more influential as his understanding with the players around him continues to improve.

I wouldn't want to put too much emphasis on the idea of him proving a point to Newcastle, because ultimately he made his decision during the summer and I'm sure he's far more interested in helping Villa get three points than anything that happened during the transfer window.

But there's no getting away from the fact that Newcastle were heavily linked with him, Villa managed to secure the deal and he's now heading to St James' Park as one of the most exciting players in Emery's team.

After everything we've seen from him already, I'd be surprised if Newcastle supporters weren't watching him on Saturday and wondering what might have been.