Earlier this summer, we saw Newcastle United seemingly agree almost everything to bring in Victor Munoz to St James’ Park, only for the move to fall apart in the final steps as Liverpool swooped in late. Now, it looks like it has happened again with Johan Manzambi.
For several days now, it is believed that Newcastle United have had a deal in place with SC Freiburg. Yet, it appears he will end up joining a different Premier League club instead.
According to a report from the highly reliable David Ornstein, Aston Villa are in the process of finalising a move to sign Manzambi from Freiburg. Newcastle United had an agreement with the German club but they lacked player approval.
The Swiss midfielder, who enjoyed a standout World Cup campaign, wants the move to Aston Villa. And a deal is now accelerating towards a conclusion.
Johan Manzambi’s move to Newcastle United appears to have collapsed
Unfortunately, this should not come as any surprise. Even when it had emerged that a deal had been agreed with SC Freiburg, enough confidence was not projected in the media briefings regarding a move to Newcastle United taking place.
Instead, it was always mentioned that there were concerns that some other club could try to swoop in and as a result, there was a ceiling on the optimism that a move would be completed.
Exactly, that seems to have happened. From this position, Manzambi seems more likely to end up at Aston Villa than Newcastle United.
Of course, this is the problem with not making the Champions League. Even if you are ready to pay the fee required to sign a player, a lot of the time, they might not be willing to join you.
Manzambi deal collapsing would be horrible for Newcastle
Manzambi was one of the breakout stars at the World Cup. He was tremendous for Switzerland, scoring three goals and providing two assists in just two starts.
Before that, he was very good for SC Freiburg as well. Last season, he managed seven goals and nine assists for the Bundesliga side.
So, it is not hard to see why the Magpies would be disappointed if this deal falls apart as well. While the club continue to lose their best players left, right and centre, they are struggling to even bring in youngsters to replace them.
This will raise concerns among Newcastle United supporters as well. This is a team that finished 12th in the Premier League last season and has been significantly weakened since then.
