Johan Manzambi: Newcastle to lose World Cup hero Switzerland to Aston Villa – becomes 10th player to deny Magpies in two years | Football news

Newcastle believe they will miss out on signing Freiburg midfielder Johan Manzambi from Aston Villa.

The Swiss international’s interest is understood to be that of Villa, who have offered to match the £49m deal Newcastle agreed with Freiburg.

The offer of Champions League football is said to have been the main motivation for Manzambi in the decision to choose Villa.

The 20-year-old had agreed a verbal deal with Newcastle but waited until the end of the World Cup in Switzerland before making a final statement about his future.

Switzerland was defeated by Argentina 3-1 in the quarter-final after extra time.

Manzambi will become the 10th player Newcastle have missed out on signing from the summer of 2024 – with nine of those players joining Premier League rivals.

Nine other Newcastle players missed out

Victor Munoz – summer 2026

Earlier this summer, Newcastle thought they had a deal in place for Spanish midfielder Victor Munoz – before Liverpool’s late hijack.

Newcastle have a fee of £29m (+£4.3m) accepted by Osasuna and the player had agreed personal terms and told them he wanted to come. Agent fees were also agreed upon.

But they were told to wait for the last 24 hours by the player’s representatives.

Liverpool were always sitting on the table for Muñoz so they didn’t come in at the last minute, but Newcastle have been told that the player wants to sign him.

Hugo Ekitike – summer 2025

Last summer, Eintracht Frankfurt rejected a club-record £70m bid from Newcastle for Hugo Ekitike.

Newcastle have held talks with Ekitike’s representatives in Austria, as they look to sign the striker they have been eyeing for years.

Newcastle tried and failed to sign Ekitike in 2022 but chose PSG instead. Frankfurt then paid PSG just £14m for the 23-year-old last summer.

Liverpool then agreed a deal for the 23-year-old with Eintracht Frankfurt worth £79m, made up of a fixed fee of £69m and £10m of add-ons. Ekitike was very fond of Liverpool.

Benjamin Sesko – summer 2025

After Ekitike went down, Newcastle turned to Benjamin Sesko.

They made a second bid of £69.7m plus add-ons, after an initial offer of less than £70m (€80m) plus add-ons was rejected.

Manchester United then agreed to Sesko’s deal. The deal came down to £66.3m (€76.5m) and £7.37m (€8.5m) in performance-related add-ons – which were actually lower than Newcastle’s second bid. Sesko preferred to move to Old Trafford.

Joao Pedro – summer 2025

Before they moved for Sesko or Ekitike, Newcastle had a £50m bid for Joao Pedro rejected by Brighton.

The Magpies have cemented their long-term interest in the player with an offer. But while talks between the clubs continued, Chelsea stepped in.

The Blues made Pedro their top selling target and eventually signed him for £60m at the start of June – just in time for the club’s World Cup.

Bryan Mbeumo – summer 2025

Newcastle were also interested in then Brentford striker Bryan Mbeumo last summer.

The Magpies were one of a number of clubs interested in the striker including Liverpool, Manchester United, and Tottenham – and all four clubs are eyeing a move.

Mbeumo ended up joining Sesko from United in a £71m deal.

Dean Huijsen – summer 2025

Newcastle have been among those interested in Spanish defender Dean Huijsen, who recently had a successful season at Bournemouth.

However, Real Madrid moved quickly to trigger his £50m release clause.

Liam Delap – summer 2025

Newcastle were interested in signing Liam Delap from Ipswich last summer. Ipswich gave Delap permission to talk to other clubs after they were relegated from the Premier League last year.

However, Chelsea paid Delap a £30m release clause. Chelsea paid £20m upfront, with the rest included in the clauses, while Ipswich also included a sell-on clause in the deal.

James Trafford – summer 2025

Newcastle agreed a £31m fee with Burnley for goalkeeper James Trafford last year. However, Manchester City entered.

City were put through a similar clause when they sold Trafford to Burnley in 2023 – they ended up opening it.

Trafford ended up rejecting Newcastle for a move to Guardiola’s City. He started the season as No 1 but then lost his place to Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Marc Guehi – summer 2024

Newcastle are making three bids for Marc Guehi in the summer of 2024. The bid was in excess of £50m – but Palace bid £65m.

Newcastle maintained an interest in Guehi the following summer, but Liverpool stepped in. With one year left on his contract, Guehi saw a £35m move to Liverpool fall through on the final day of the 2025 transfer window.

Six months later, Guehi moved to Man City for an initial £20m – with six months left on his contract.