Newcastle are wary that Aston Villa may make a late move for Johan Manzambi, talkSPORT understands.
The Magpies have agreed a €60million (£51.2million) fee with Freiburg for the Swiss midfielder.
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And Newcastle are seemingly in the driver’s seat to sign the highly-rated Switzerland international.
However, Eddie Howe’s side are yet to agree personal terms with the player ahead of a possible Premier League move.
As such, Newcastle are cautious about the possibility of a hijack, with Villa among those who may make an 11th-hour swoop for the 20-year-old.
Villa are in the market for another central midfielder after Amadou Onana suffered an ACL injury on international duty.
The former Everton man will miss the remainder of the 2026 World Cup and a substantial chunk of the 2026/27 season after being forced off midway through the first half of Belgium’s 4-1 win over USA.
Who is Johan Manzambi?
Manzambi made his senior Freiburg debut in the 2024/25 season, making four league starts.
However, it was the 2025/26 campaign where the midfielder enjoyed a breakout year.
Indeed, Manzambi started 26 Bundesliga matches last season, scoring five times and providing four assists for the German side.
The Geneva-born midfielder was also instrumental in Freiburg’s progression to the Europa League final, scoring twice and providing two assists as the Bundesliga outfit ultimately crashed to a 3-0 loss to Villa.
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It’s at the 2026 World Cup where Manzambi has exploded onto the scene.
He’s played an instrumental role in Switzerland’s progression to the quarter-finals, scoring two times and providing two assists.
Manzambi, though, sat out the penalty shootout last-16 win over Colombia with a knee injury.
And he’s unlikely to recover in time for the quarter-final showdown with Argentina on Sunday morning [2am UK Time].
The winner of Argentina’s game against Switzerland will face either England or Norway in the semi-finals.
Their quarter-final meeting gets underway on Saturday night [UK Time] but kick off may yet be delayed owing to the threat of storms in Miami.
