It’s all about finding a route toward resurgence for Newcastle United in the Premier League next season, with Eddie Howe‘s side falling by the wayside last year.
Sustained success on the field is always going to be difficult when you are being peppered by unyielding setbacks in the transfer window. When the Magpies burst onto the highest echelon of English football at the start of the Howe era, they clearly opened Pandora’s Box, now cursed to see all of their top transfer targets somehow fall into enemy territory.
Newcastle cannot afford to wallow in their misfortune, and must act speedily to cover any cracks in the squad. While Sean Steur has stepped in for £23m after Sandro Tonali completed a £100m move to Tottenham, there is a lot of uncertainty around skipper Bruno Guimaraes, and it’s clear that they need another midfielder.
Why Newcastle still need to sign a midfielder
Guimaraes is something special, the centrepiece of a Newcastle side who have escaped from the perils of mid-table – and indeed relegation bother – to play in two Champions League campaigns across three terms, also winning the Carabao Cup in 2025, defeating Liverpool at Wembley.
At 28, though, the world-class Brazilian clearly wants to play at the highest level, and Newcastle’s 12th-place Premier League finish last year has pulled at his allegiance to Tyneside, with the captain eager to explore a transfer to league champions Arsenal. Phone calls have taken place as the Gunners try and move the pieces and secure his signature.
Replacing him was always going to be difficult, and it’s been made tougher still now that Johan Manzambi’s proposed move to St. James’ Park is off. Aston Villa hijacked that one, the latest in a long and weary line.
The Swiss midfielder, 20 years old, stormed onto the scene at the World Cup this summer, scoring three goals and supplying two assists across four appearances, only two of which were starts.
However, his efforts with Freiburg in the Bundesliga were more measured, albeit no less explosive. He completed 84% of his passes, won 6.6 duels and made 3.7 defensive contributions on average each game, leading talent scout Jacek Kulig to describe him as “one of the most exciting box-crashing midfielders in Europe“.
This is a potential superstar, a box-to-box midfielder for the ages. Alas, he will join Villa this summer, leaving Newcastle and Howe in the lurch once again.
They must react quickly and prove they are set on returning to Europe-challenging form.
Newcastle burst into talks for Manzambi alternative
A £51m deal had been agreed to sign Manzambi, and if we take anything from it, it’s that PIF have money to spend on talented midfielders.
That can also be seen following the news that the Magpies have seen an offer rejected for Tottenham Hotspur’s Lucas Bergvall, the north London club knocking back a bid of around £46m for the 20-year-old.
Bergvall isn’t the only Swedish midfielder that Newcastle are in for, however, with Football Transfers revealing that Newcastle have opened talks to sign Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Larsson,
So then, what’s the catch? Well, Manchester United are also interested in signing the gifted playmaker, who Frankfurt are unwilling to sell, but have reluctantly priced at €50m (£43m). Larsson is keen to consider a move to the Premier League, but neither suitor has lodged a formal bid just yet.
Understand that in the Sweden international, who missed out on Graham Potter’s World Cup squad, Newcastle would be signing potential, not the finished product.
Larsson did not enjoy the strongest 2025/26 season, but he remains one of the most exciting midfield talents out there, hailed for his “insane running and stamina” by analyst and Como scout Ben Mattinson, who even suggested he bears a likeness to Three Lions superstar Jude Bellingham.
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Larsson is still working on his physicality, but that Jude comparison makes a strong comment on his potential. You can see why Newcastle want him, adding a box-crashing midfielder who echoes the impact that Manzambi would have made.
While this would be something of a gamble after a disappointing year, Larsson was dragged into his outfit’s wider malaise, and he showed the previous year that he has elite potential.
There’s no question that Newcastle have placed an emphasis on strengthening with up-and-coming quality this summer, but if Larsson can recapture the form he showed during those early Bundesliga days, he could outstrip Manzambi and prove that, in the end, it all worked out just fine for Howe’s project.
Though Manzambi is the talk of the town right now, Larsson has the makings of a midfielder with outstanding tactical intelligence and vision, capable of influencing attacks from deep.
Manzambi, by contrast, is more physical and direct. Larsson has such skills in his repertoire, but a more varied and dynamic approach could pay dividends in the long run for a Newcastle side going through any number of changes.