The 20-year-old looked set to join Newcastle after a sensational World Cup campaign with Switzerland, after Eddie Howe’s side reached a £52 million agreement with Freiburg.
An agreement over personal terms was never reached, however, and Newcastle will once again miss out on one of their top targets.
Newcastle were in a remarkably similar situation with Victor Munoz, agreeing a fee with Osasuna before the player ultimately decided to join Liverpool instead.
According to The Athletic, Premier League rivals Aston Villa have swooped in to hijack and are finalising the deal.
It’s understood that Villa decided to accelerate their interest in Manzambi after midfielder Amadou Onana suffered a knee ligament injury.
Manzambi impressed over in North America, scoring three goals and providing one assist in his four games before a knee injury cut his World Cup campaign short.
