How Aston Villa beat Newcastle to Johan Manzambi transfer: The inside story
By Jacob Tanswell and Chris Waugh
Johan Manzambi was among Newcastle United and Aston Villa’s top targets. It meant a tussle of some sort was long foreseen.
Led by their scouting and data departments, Villa were impressed by Manzambi and closely tracked him throughout last season — long before meeting him in the Europa League final against Freiburg in May, or his sparkling performances with Switzerland at the World Cup.
Despite the ongoing skirmishes with financial regulations, Villa were willing to pay a sizeable fee for the 20-year-old midfielder. Manzambi’s arrival has the fingerprints of sporting director Roberto Olabe, who tasked his scouting and data departments with conducting a deep, exhaustive process.
His signing, it was felt, would symbolise a change in Villa’s recruitment. They want to reduce the average age of the squad — the second oldest in the Premier League last season — and inject dynamism and athleticism into a team that had been together for a long time.
In the end, Villa won the race, striking a club-record fee of over £50million, breaking the mark set by Amadou Onana’s move in July 2024. Freiburg sources say the fee is in the region of €70m (£59m; $80m), while Villa say it is slightly less.
Here, informed by conversations with various sources involved in the deal (they all asked to speak anonymously to protect relationships), The Athletic explains the story behind a fight for one of this summer’s most coveted players.
Heading into the window, Villa and Newcastle had reasons for both optimism and pessimism.
Newcastle knew Villa were in a tough financial scrap, so would likely need a departure before they could commit. In theory, this gave them a head start in the race for Manzambi. On the other hand, Villa had qualified for the Champions League.
Having finished 12th, Newcastle always knew their lack of European football could act against them. Sources at both clubs believed Manzambi was being tracked by multiple Premier League sides, as well as Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in Germany. However, Dortmund sources said they never formally registered an interest.
Manzambi contests the ball for Switzerland against Algeria in the World Cup round of 32
Switzerland’s World Cup ended in a quarter-final defeat against Argentina (Fran Santiago/Getty Images)
The managers pushed hard. Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe drove the interest, viewing Manzambi as an ideal replacement or upgrade on midfielder Joe Willock. Newcastle viewed him as a No 8, playing in one of the two more advanced midfield positions in Howe’s 4-3-3 system, although he was not exactly a like-for-like replacement for Tottenham Hotspur-bound Sandro Tonali.
They admired his energy, athleticism, ball-carrying ability and power, with the more intangible elements — such as a penchant for decisive moments in matches — deemed ideal for the Premier League. He was considered a player who could help score and create for Newcastle, a key concern given the firepower they have lost over the past year. He was, in almost every way, the archetypal Howe player.
As for Villa, they had identified Manzambi long before the Europa League final on May 20. But similarly to Morgan Rogers, who played against Villa when they faced Middlesbrough in the FA Cup two and a half years ago, Unai Emery became infatuated during pre-match analysis.
For Villa’s scouting department, achieving Emery’s buy-in — essentially the one aspect any deal hinges on — was significant. Freiburg lost the final 3-0 but Manzambi’s performances before and after the match solidified Villa’s thoughts.
Manzambi playing for Freiburg in the Europa League final in May
Villa beat Freiburg 3-0 in the Europa League final in May (Andrej Isakovic/AFP via Getty Images)
By this stage, Villa had made their background checks. The feedback was of a focused, humble player who, although just out of his teenage years, had demonstrated professionalism, a willingness to invest in himself off the pitch.
The key sticking point was the World Cup. The price increased during the tournament as Manzambi drew wider attention. Villa knew this was a possibility, considering they had little other option but to wait until Manzambi’s tournament ended. Before June 30 and the end of their financial year, they could not commit to anything.
Newcastle executives met face-to-face with Freiburg, attempting to thrash out an agreement. They felt the meetings had been positive and that they had struck up a good rapport. They laid out how they intended to look after Manzambi, how he would be used, what the vision was and why they wanted him so much. The framework for concluding the deal was determined in the middle of last week, with the fee in the region of £50million.
All of Newcastle’s decision-makers wanted him, including Howe and assistant Jason Tindall. Although Newcastle believed they were at the front of the queue and had put in all the groundwork, there was always apprehension that Manzambi and his representatives were holding out for alternatives.
Even though there was a club-to-club agreement, the Switzerland international never fully committed to joining Newcastle, despite suggesting he was open to doing so. There was never a firm commitment and Newcastle were told Manzambi wanted to wait until after Switzerland were out of the World Cup to make a firm decision.
It was mainly for that reason that some at Newcastle always felt pessimistic, suggesting negotiations had not felt quite right from the start, but others were more hopeful. Newcastle really went the extra mile to try to conclude the agreement, including meeting the family, learning more about Manzambi’s backstory, and laying out the project to them.
Villa, Emery and the Champions League was a different proposition. Club executives were in Miami as talks with Manzambi progressed. Manzambi delaying on an agreement with Newcastle gave Villa time to put their monetary package in order, after others around the situation feared they were too late and Newcastle were too far down the line.
Villa could accelerate talks after . Ultimately, Manzambi favoured a move to Villa, with player buy-in and a slightly bigger fee sweetening the deal for Freiburg.
Tactically, from Villa’s standpoint, Manzambi has no set profile. In principle, he can play alongside a defensive-minded midfielder in the pivot, but he will likely be used further forward, perhaps off the left cutting inside or as a right No 10, as Rogers has been. Fundamentally, Villa’s best signings under their manager have always carried the ability to play in multiple positions, a hallmark of an Emery player.
Switzerland's players celebrated by home fans on their arrival back from the World Cup
Switzerland’s players were celebrated by home fans on their arrival back from the World Cup (Fabrice Coffrini /AFP via Getty Images)
Shortly after Newcastle struck a club agreement for Manzambi, they quickly began to feel that he was edging towards going elsewhere. They suspected Villa. Contingency options were then swiftly pursued.
Villa struck. They moved closer to the fee and accepted that this would be their big summer signing, despite the sense heading into the window that they would struggle to make any major moves without more sales. Departures, of course, can still happen, with Arsenal and others’ admiration for Rogers.
Howe was understandably bruised after missing out on two of his key targets, in Manzambi and Victor Munoz, who joined Liverpool, but being back on the training pitch for pre-season may have lifted his spirits.
Recruitment sources at other Premier League clubs have praised Villa for getting Manzambi over the line, believing he would already be at a higher level had it not been for his unique pathway and being regarded as a late developer by scouts.
Villa have signed a player who is the envy of many other Premier League and European clubs.
Manzambi offers youth, dynamism and drive. It is hoped this suggests that, during the transitional period Villa are entering as they reshape their squad, he is the paragon of how to spend the money they do have in the right way.
