Newcastle United transfers: Newcastle missed out on signing Johan Manzambi to Premier League rivals Aston Villa.
Newcastle United were gazumped in the transfer market once again after agreeing a deal with Freiburg to sign Johan Manzambi.
The 20-year-old has impressed for Switzerland at the World Cup and the Magpies were thought to be in pole position to sign the midfielder.
But Aston Villa, following a serious injury blow to Amadou Onana and the imminent exit of Youri Tielemans, swooped to sign Manzambi ahead of Newcastle. Villa’s more lucrative proposal, paired with the offer of Champions League football, saw Newcastle miss out on another top transfer target.
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Yet an off-field agreement just announced by Aston Villa is sure to cause some ethical discomfort for Manzambi, who is yet to be formally announced as a Villa player, with his medical planned this week.
Aston Villa’s controversial agreement
Villa have just announced a £20million per-season deal with Visit Rwanda as a new front-of-shirt sponsor.
Visit Rwanda already partners with Paris Saint-Germain and Atletico Madrid, but its shirt sleeve deal with Arsenal, worth £10million per-season, has just concluded.
Francesco Calvo and Rwanda Convention Bureau CEO, Janet Karemeraplaceholder image
Francesco Calvo and Rwanda Convention Bureau CEO, Janet Karemera | Aston Villa FC
Visit Rwanda sponsorships in Europe have brought with them accusations of sportswashing after the Rwandan government were found to be linked to the M23, as per United Nations reports. The M23 is an ‘armed group’ operating in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, with a United Nations Report in 2025 stating that it had received ‘first-hand accounts indicating that at least 319 civilians were killed by M23 fighters, aided by members of the Rwanda Defence Force’.
This saw PSG supporters launch a ‘Stop Visit Rwanda’ petition, which was signed by more than 75,000 people.
It just so happens that Manzambi’s father is from DR Congo. The thought of a player of Congolese descent holding up a ‘Visit Rwanda’ sponsored Aston Villa shirt upon signing for the club won’t exactly go down well.
But there has been no indication that Villa’s new sponsor would be enough to scupper the Manzambi deal. Either way, Newcastle have moved on from the situation and their transfer stance has already been made clear by head coach Eddie Howe.
Newcastle United transfer ‘non-negotiable’
Howe has long maintained that the one quality he cannot compromise on in recruitment is a player's desire to join the football club.
The Newcastle head coach previously told The Gazette about his biggest ‘non-negotiable’ when it comes to signing players. And Manzambi has already shown that he is not committed to joining Newcastle.
“The big thing for me is they have to want to come and play for this great football club,” Howe said back in May. “That's number one.
“And in my experience, if the player has any doubt and isn't totally sure this is the right place for them, it doesn't work.
“If I look back at the most successful signings we've had here, every player has been desperate to come and put that black and white shirt on. So I think take apart all the other things. That is number one for me.”
As reported by The Gazette, sources at Newcastle never felt convinced that Manzambi wanted to join the club and suspected they would miss out on the player from an early stage despite progressing with negotiations. They have already moved on and are looking at alternative targets.
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