What they couldn't do was get the paperwork finished while the Swiss midfielder was still on World Cup duty — and that gap is exactly what Aston Villa have now exploited, says the Daily Mail.
Villa's need sharpened considerably once Amadou Onana was ruled out for an extended spell with ligament damage, and the club have responded by preparing to smash their own transfer record: a fee just below £60m, comfortably eclipsing anything they've paid before.
Champions League football and a competitive salary package now sit on the table, and Villa are confident enough in their position to expect SC Freiburg midfielder Manzambi to choose them over Newcastle United once personal terms are finalised.
There's a telling admission from inside Newcastle about how this unfolded. Talks with Manzambi's camp were positive, sources there say, but at no point did the Magpies get the sense they had his full commitment — there was always a nagging suspicion that another suitor was working in the background, waiting for its moment.
For Aston Villa, landing Manzambi would be a genuine statement of intent as they prepare to return to the Champions League, even if UEFA's financial sustainability rules mean a deal of this size will likely have to be balanced by a sale elsewhere in the squad.
The player himself gave the football world a glimpse of what he offers before a training-ground knee injury cut his tournament short: three goals and two assists in a breakout campaign for Switzerland, form that also caught Villa's eye when Freiburg were beaten 3-0 in May's Europa League final.
Villa's business elsewhere in attack tells its own story. Morgan Rogers isn't for sale below £100m, whatever the offer, while Ollie Watkins has attracted interest from Fenerbahce, who believe a three-year contract and a substantial pay rise could be enough to tempt the 30-year-old to Turkey.