Manzambi the latest 'hungry' player targeted in Magpies rebuild

Newcastle have targeted hungry players of a similar age this summer as part of their rebuild.

The club have signed winger Bazoumana Toure from Hoffenheim for £43m, goalkeeper Ewen Jaouen from Reims for about £18.5m and Ajax midfielder Sean Steur in a deal worth up to £23m.

The trio are all aged 20 and under and, following a series of knockbacks in the transfer market in the past year, it felt significant they were keen on making the move to St James' Park.

Could Johan Manzambi follow suit?

Freiburg are in a strong negotiating position following the midfielder's performances at the World Cup with Switzerland, but Newcastle have the headroom to reinvest within the financial rules after selling Sandro Tonali to Tottenham for a fee potentially rising to £100m.

The Magpies would also be able to offer Manzambi the platform to develop further with regular first-team football.

The next couple of weeks feel significant.

Manzambi, who changed representatives in the build-up to the window, has made it clear in interviews he will address his future after the World Cup.

He has certainly not let the growing interest distract him, which did not come as a surprise to Luigi Pisino, who coached him at Servette's academy.

"He's someone with his feet on the floor," he said. "He remains humble and has a lot of values, even outside of the pitch.

"He's really close to his biggest brother, who was always with him, and his father as well. They shared a lot of values."

Newcastle are not the only interested party, of course, and the club have been here before.

They thought a deal had been finalised for Victor Munoz when Liverpool emerged out of nowhere to sign the forward from Osasuna earlier this summer.

Hope remains, but there is still a degree of caution surrounding this pursuit as a result.

Read more on Newcastle target Manzambi's rise