Johan Manzambi has chosen to Newcastle United over Aston Villa.
Newcastle United have accepted defeat in their bid to sign Freiberg and Switzerland midfielder Johan Manzambi.
The Magpies had a £49million agreement in place with Freiberg but suspected the player was keeping his options open after his camp told them that a deal couldn’t be finalised until after the World Cup.
Manzambi has popped up on the radar of several clubs following an excellent World Cup campaign, where he scored three goals and provided two assists to help Switzerland reach the quarter-finals.
The 20-year-old picked up a knee injury after the round of 32 win over Algeria but stayed to support his teammates as they beat Colombia on penalties before losing 3-1 to Argentina on Sunday.
Newcastle were hopeful of finalising a move to Manzambi this week, all whilst the midfielder appeared to confirm his switch to Aston Villa - in front of the TV cameras.
Following the loss to Argentina, Manzambi was captured in conversation with Villa’s Argentine goalkeeper Emi Martinez, who was heard asking, “you going to Villa?”
Manzambi appeared to nod his head and say yes. Martinez then smiled and tapped Manzambi on the chest before moving to his left and and sharing a hug with international teammate Lionel Messi.
Little under 24 hours and the news broke that Villa had hijacked Newcastle’s move, suggesting Manzambi knew fine well in that moment what the state of play was.
While Manzambi’s decision came as a disappointment, it certainly didn’t come as a surprise to those inside St James’ Park.
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