Although Newcastle felt they had a strong chance of landing a priority target, they approached the pursuit with caution.
Those around the Magpies wondered why the confidence wasn’t absolute — but after losing out to Liverpool for Víctor Munoz, and seeing Hugo Ekitike head to Anfield last year, Newcastle were understandably wary.
Those concerns proved justified when Manzambi hesitated and Villa struck.
Coveted by more than half the Premier League, he marks the opening move in a Villa refresh.
Manzambi had been on Villa’s radar since the start of last season, with a summer switch long anticipated.
It’s thought that a knee injury — which kept him out of Switzerland’s last-16 win over Colombia and their World Cup quarter-final loss to Argentina — gave him space to consider his options amid Newcastle’s interest.
There’s also a recognition it was now or never for Villa; a successful move elsewhere could have put him beyond their budget, especially given his rapid international rise — just two Switzerland Under-21 appearances before his senior promotion.
Having starred in the Bundesliga and helped Freiburg reach the Europa League final — where they lost to Villa — the decision to make him the club’s record signing is viewed as a calculated bet worth taking.
His versatility — especially important with Onana’s serious knee injury — only heightens his value.
Last season Manzambi — the Europa League Young Player of the Season — led the Bundesliga in 10m-plus progressive carries (116), shot-ending carries (13), and fouls won (78) as opponents repeatedly tried to stop him.
He was the most-fouled player in the league, and only Yan Diomande, Bazoumana Toure and Can Uzun were younger while posting more combined goals and assists.
He ranked second for total take-ons (71), take-ons in the opposition half (52), and total carrying progress (2,476 metres).
By comparison, last term Tielemans averaged 10 metres per progressive carry with 109 in total, Onana managed just 75, and only three of Tielemans’ carries resulted in a shot.