Aston Villa are working on a deal for Freiburg midfielder Johan Manzambi as they attempt to hijack Newcastle United's move.
The report indicates that aston Villa are working on a deal for Freiburg midfielder Johan Manzambi as they attempt to hijack Newcastle United’s move.
It further notes that newcastle had appeared to be in pole position to sign Manzambi in a deal worth in the region of £50m, but BBC Sport previously reported the club had been a little cautious given the interest from elsewhere.
Any deal could eclipse the record £50m Villa paid Everton for Amadou Onana two years ago.
Villa are poised to lose Youri Tielemans, with Manchester United in talks over the Belgian international, at a time when they already need midfield reinforcements.
Onana suffered an anterior cruciate knee ligament injury in Belgium’s last-16 win over the USA, which will likely rule him out until next year.
The chance to play Champions League football for the first time with Aston Villa is understood to be a huge attraction for 20-year-old Manzambi.
He previously came up against Villa in the Europa League final in May, when Unai Emery’s side won 3-0 in Istanbul.
The Swiss went on to become one of the breakout stars of the World Cup as the youngest player to chalk up five goal involvements at the tournament since 1966.
Villa’s finances are tight as they look to comply with Uefa financial regulations and left-back Lucas Digne is close to rejoining Paris St-Germain.
Villa are also due to sell forward Lewis Dobbin to Southampton for about £9m.
Dobbin spent last season on loan at Preston and also had spells at West Brom and Norwich but never played for Villa after joining from Everton for £10m in 2024.
This is a painful case of deja vu for Newcastle.
It was just a few weeks ago that the club lost out on another top target, Victor Munoz, who opted to join Liverpool.
Talent identification is clearly not the issue.
