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Newcastle head coach Matthias Jaissle says he is uninterested in dwelling on what might have been when highly-rated Aston Villa midfielder Johan Manzambi visits St James’ Park this weekend, writes the Press Association .

Manzambi looked set for a switch to Tyneside over the summer but the deal was hijacked as Villa swooped in to sign the Switzerland international, who has flourished during his short time in the midlands.

The 21-year-old opened the scoring in Villa’s 6-0 Champions League rout of Fenerbahce in midweek and he could rub salt into his former suitors’ wounds when Newcastle welcome Unai Emery’s side on Saturday.

But while Jaissle, who succeeded Eddie Howe after Manzambi snubbed a move to the north-east, is a fan of the youngster, the German side-stepped the question of whether he would have liked him in his ranks.

“He is a really good player,” said Jaissle, who will be looking for a response after Monday’s 4-1 loss at Coventry. “But I’m not here to talk now about players, about rumours, about potential signings. The pure focus is on our players. We have many things to do, many things to improve, and that’s the approach to not get distracted by anything else.”

Joelinton is poised for his first start of the season for Newcastle on Saturday while Dan Burn looks set to be on the bench again, with Anthony Elanga and Jacob Ramsey poised to return to light training next week.