Why Newcastle could sign £42m midfielder instead of Archie Gray

There’s no getting away from it, recruitment has been wretched at Newcastle United in recent seasons, with last summer proving particularly painful for those at St James’ Park.

The marquee captures of Anthony Elanga, Yoane Wissa and Nick Woltemade all backfired, the expensively assembled trio scoring just nine Premier League goals between them, eight of which came via the young German.

The Magpies’ club-record addition did at least hit double figures by the end of his debut campaign in all competitions, although he only scored twice in total in 2026, since enduring a difficult World Cup amid Germany’s shock early exit.

That isn’t to say Eddie Howe and co should simply cut their losses and move on, but lessons need to be learned for the current window, with the club unable to afford another scattergun summer.

Newcastle in ongoing talks to sign World Cup star this summer

It’s fair to say that it’s not a happy camp at St James’ Park, as Sandro Tonali appears destined to follow Mateus Fernandes to Tottenham Hotspur, while talismanic skipper, Bruno Guimaraes, is attracting significant interest from Arsenal.

To lose even one of that pair would be considered a blow, leaving Howe in need of significant reinforcement in the midfield ranks ahead of the upcoming campaign.

Well, in more positive news, work does appear to be underway on that front, with Fabrizio Romano outlining that the Magpies have sent an offer to sign Spurs starlet, Archie Gray.

That bid has been rebuffed, although the Englishman isn’t the only player on the agenda, the Daily Mail reporting that the Tynesiders are in ‘ongoing talks’ regarding a deal for Swiss sensation, Johan Manzambi.

The suggestion is that the Magpies are ‘pressing ahead’ in their bid to sign the 20-year-old, alongside other targets, with the Freiburg starlet said to have a ‘very bright future’ ahead.

No asking price for the youngster was mentioned, although prior claims suggest that he could command a fee of around £42m.

Why Manzambi signing could be even better than Gray

With Tonali potentially going in the opposite direction, a sneaky little bid for Gray is a wise move, with the ex-Leeds United man having been a real shining light during a dismal 2025/26 campaign in north London.

While he faded from view following Roberto De Zerbi’s appointment, the 20-year-old was a bright spark under both Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor, memorably hailed as looking like a “young Declan Rice” following a standout display against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.

Landing such a talent could well be a case of Lewis Hall or Tino Livramento mark two, plucking a highly-rated, future England star for Howe to nurture and develop on Tyneside.

And yet, might Manzambi actually represent an even bigger coup, considering his remarkable form of late?

In the view of analyst Spencer Mossman, the Swiss hero is arguably the “most unique U21 player on the planet right now“, such is his ability to shine in a variety of roles, be it as a number ten, a number eight or on the flanks.

A ‘Swiss-Army Knife’ of a player, if you will, Manzambi is perhaps at his most potent as a box-crashing, advanced midfielder, having already scored three goals for his country at the World Cup.

That comes after being named the Europa League Player of the Year last term, playing a vital role in dragging Freiburg to the showpiece, prior to their eventual defeat to Aston Villa.

In the Bundesliga last season too, meanwhile, he scored and assisted nine goals, created six ‘big chances’ and averaged 1.2 successful dribbles per game, representing such a dynamic, all-action force in the centre of the park.

As for Gray, having returned to his rightful midfield role after prior stints at right-back and centre-back, the England youth international scored and assisted just four goals, having created only three big chances while averaging just 0.3 successful dribbles.

Now, that might be impacted by Gray operating more as a number six than as a box-crashing number eight, although Manzambi did also trump him in a defensive sense, bettering the Spurs man for both tackles and interceptions per game (2.3 vs 1.2), as well as for ball recoveries per game (4.1 vs 2.4).

It was overall a positive individual season for Gray at N17, although he started just 19 and 18 league games, respectively, over the last two campaigns, still yet to really nail down a regular role with the Lilywhites.

Manzambi, meanwhile, was central to everything good about Freiburg last time out, starting 26 Bundesliga games, while scoring and assisting four goals in 13 Europa League starts.

Considering the latter man’s remarkable versatility and ‘unique’ quality too, he could well prove to be the better pick-up, although either way, there could well be hope of Howe assembling a youthful, new-look side at St James’.