Johan Manzambi: Why the Newcastle target was wanted

It has increased significantly.

But Manzambi’s thirst for a quick recovery has caught the eye of Freiburg following his exit from Switzerland’s Servette in 2023, as they are tied with Freiburg in the table.

After a particularly boring training session with the reserves went on longer than planned, Manzambi asked current Freiburg II manager Benedetto Musicato if he could go over the game plan again because it “wasn’t right”.

“He wants to get better every day,” Musiccato said. “If anything, you should slow down instead of speeding it up.”

This mentality has been a constant throughout his development career and helps explain why Manzambi has been on the radar of clubs long before the World Cup.

He was a key figure in a Freiburg side that reached their first ever Europa League final last season and followed in the footsteps of Ryan Cherkin and Florian Wirtz as the tournament’s young player of the season.

Despite his first full season as a starter for Manzambi, he made 13 appearances, including impressive long-range attempts against Bayern Munich and Braga in the Bundesliga and Europa League respectively.

Manzambi’s ball carrying, close control and ability to make things happen all stand out, as does his versatility.

The Swiss has played in a variety of roles in the center of the park for club and country, but his box-to-box average has the potential to excel.

The information definitely suggests.

Among players in the Bundesliga in 2025-26, Manzambi ranked first in 10-plus meter forward carries (116), shots on goal (13) and fouls (78) when opponents tried to stop him.

He was second in total yards (71), opponents’ rushing yards (52) and total carry yards (2,476 yards).

Manzambi is far from a finished article but he wants to build on a fantastic campaign, inspired by “a very healthy and positive initiative”, in the words of Musicato.

“I remember knowing that Johannes was something special after the first touch,” he added.

“His natural ability and understanding of the game was obvious from the start, you could see it straight away.

“But as a person, he’s the type of player every coach wants in their team. He always wants to improve, asks the right questions and is eager to learn.”