Newcastle United can sign dream Sandro Tonali replacement by landing £42m-rated World Cup hero

For the second summer in a row, Newcastle are having a pretty tough time in the transfer market. The sale of Anthony Gordon may have been acceptable, but they’ve already had a deal for Victor Muñoz hijacked by Liverpool and they now face the prospect of losing Sandro Tonali, with Tottenham Hotspur seemingly ready to spend as much as £100m to prise the Italian away. The Magpies probably didn’t plan for all of this.

To make matters even worse, Arsenal have unexpectedly started making overtures towards Bruno Guimarães and while Newcastle have made it clear that the Brazilian is not for sale – losing Gordon, Tonali and Bruno in the same transfer window would be untenable – the current situation has thrown the need for midfield reinforcements into sharp relief.

Replacing Tonali is the bare minimum, especially given that Joelinton is coming off a somewhat disappointing campaign and Lewis Miley has been struggling with his fitness. Eddie Howe may need two or more new players in the centre of the pitch – and new reports suggest that he has at least one target in mind.

Newcastle watching World Cup star Johan Manzambi – reports

On Tuesday, The Athletic’s Chris Waugh reported on Newcastle’s search for a new central midfielder and suggested that their primary target was Freiburg’s Johan Manzambi, a youngster currently enjoying a hugely impressive World Cup campaign with Switzerland.

The 20-year-old scored twice against Bosnia & Herzegovina before adding another goal and an assist against Canada to ensure his country’s progression to the knockout rounds, capping an impressive year during which he was named the Europa League’s Young Player of the Season.

According to the report, Newcastle have been monitoring Manzambi’s progress long term and Howe is said to be a “big admirer” of his talents. There is no suggestion that any negotiations have taken place as yet, but a bid may be in the offing.

Sky Sports have also suggested that Newcastle are interested in the youngster, who signed for Freiburg from Swiss side Servette in 2023, and claim that his current employers value him at £42m. Again, however, their reporting did not mention that a bid had been made or was necessarily imminent.

That apparent hesitation may offer other sides an opportunity to other teams. The Athletic report that they expect competition for Manzambi’s signature, but doesn’t name their potential rivals – but BBC Sport have suggested that Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea have all shown interest.

Newcastle have alternatives on their shortlist, perhaps most notably AS Monaco and Senegal midfielder Lamine Camara, but Manzambi seems to be emerging as their first choice. But will he be able to replicate Tonali’s levels of performance if they do sign him?

Is Manzambi a worthy replacement for Sandro Tonali?

Like Tonali, Manzambi is a box-to-box midfielder who can have an impact on every phase of play, although unlike the Italian he has tended to operate primarily down the left channels at Freiburg, getting into wider areas than Newcastle’s midfielders are typically afforded the opportunity to do.

That means that Manzambi would have to adjust his usual playing style slightly to fit into Howe’s system, but on paper he appears to have all the attributes that the Newcastle manager craves in his players – he’s energetic, athletic, forces a high volume of turnovers and can spark counter-attacks at speed.

Manzambi and Tonali put up near-identical defensive statistical records last season, recovering possession, making tackles and winning one-on-one duels almost exactly as often as each other, suggesting that Manzambi could swiftly replicate Tonali’s work off the ball. In possession, however, he’s a slightly different type of player.

Where Tonali tends to lean on his passing game, Manzambi is perhaps slightly more dynamic and has the technique and control to be an effective ball-carrier – he made more than twice as many carries per match as Tonali over the last year. Crucially, Manzambi is still a fine passer - Tonali probably has a slightly more precise final ball, but statistically the difference is minimal.

Manzambi, in short, may not have Tonali’s experience or proven track record but may well be a more well-rounded player, and he certainly provided more end product in the final third last season – both players provided six assists, but Manzambi scored seven times where Tonali only managed three goals. As his fine strikes at the World Cup suggest, Manzambi seems to be considerably more of a threat in the final third.

The Swiss midfielder only has one full season as a starter under his belt, but his performances at both the domestic and international level suggest that he’s ready to play at the highest level, and there are few evident weaknesses in his game. Losing Tonali may sting – but Manzambi could be a very fine replacement in the long run. All Newcastle have to do now is to avoid letting another side beat them to the punch.