Aston Villa fitness boost as Newcastle United issued warning after £59.5m transfer U-turn

One of Newcastle United’s failed summer transfer window moves could come back to haunt them when they face Premier League rivals Aston Villa at St James Park on Saturday evening.

The Magpies head into the game on the back of Monday night’s chastening defeat at top flight newcomers Coventry City as they suffered a 4-1 loss at the CBS Arena that has left Matthias Jaissle’s side in mid-table. Their visitors have also struggled to find form in the Premier League and are sitting just two points and two places above the relegation zone after winning just one of their six league games during the opening two months of the campaign.

However, Unai Emery’s men found their scoring touch in midweek with a 6-0 Champions League win against Fenerbahce as former Magpies transfer target Johan Manzambi showed why United were so keen to secure his services during the summer. The Swiss international was a confirmed target for Newcastle and looked to be on his way to Tyneside before Villa swooped in and landed a quickfire deal - and BBC pundit Chris Sutton has been impressed with the midfielder.

Writing in his BBC Sport predictions column, the former Premier League winner said: “Newcastle's defeat at Coventry on Monday was such a wild game. The way the Magpies play, they just go for it, and load players into the front line. They lost 4-1 in the end but the scoreline could have been anything with the number of chances Newcastle had.

“Aston Villa have made a slow start to the Premier League season results-wise but I think they done all right, bearing in mind what their manager Unai Emery has had to deal with in terms of the players they lost. Johan Manzambi is getting fitter every game and Nicolas Jackson has found some great form.

“It takes time for a team to come together but I thought they were really good against Brentford last weekend, but just weren't ruthless enough. That wasn't a problem against Fenerbahce on Wednesday, though. This is a really hard one to call and the only thing I know for certain is that there will be a few goals - Sutton’s prediction: 2-3”

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