Newcastle United believe Arsenal are still favourites to sign Sandro Tonali ahead of Tottenham and are expecting to receive an offer from the Premier League champions, according to reports.
Tonali has attracted interest from several Premier League clubs this summer with Arsenal, Spurs, Manchester United and Manchester City all considering a move.
Arsenal were exploring the possibility of a deal for Tonali in the closing stages of the January transfer window but Newcastle rejected the late approach.
According to The Telegraph, Newcastle’s hierarchy ‘have long considered Arsenal to be the favourites to sign Tonali’ and are anticipating a bid from the Premier League champions in the summer window.
The report adds that Newcastle suspect that Tottenham’s interest in Tonali has been made public in order to flush out an offer from Arsenal.
Spurs have made an approach to Tonali’s representatives to discuss a possible move to Roberto De Zerbi’s side this summer but have not yet opened talks with Newcastle.
De Zerbi has been a huge admirer of Tonali since the start of the midfielder’s career at Brescia and has identified the 26-year-old as a player who can be a key part of his rebuild at Spurs.
‘I wanted to bring Tonali to Sassuolo, if I’d stayed, after his first year at AC Milan,’ De Zerbi said during his stint at Brighton.
‘I said, ‘maybe they’ll fall for it and I’ll bring him here’. I saw him at Brescia and thought he was the player he proved to be.’
Newcastle, however, are expected to demand a £100 million transfer fee for Tonali, who they signed from AC Milan for £55m three years ago.
Tonali’s representatives are also said to have been informed by Newcastle they they will not sell the Italy international unless their asking price is met.
Meanwhile, Manchester United are said to have have informed Newcastle they will not submit an offer for Tonali because of the cost of the transfer fee and the midfielder’s wage demands.
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