Sandro Tonali completed a £100million move to Tottenham Hotspur earlier this month.
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Football financial expert Stefan Borson has claimed Tottenham Hotspur “slightly overpaid” for Sandro Tonali.
However, the former Manchester City advisor also suggested Spurs can still extract good value as the Italian enters the prime years of his career. Toon chiefs held firm to demand £100million from Tottenham for the midfielder.
Tonali signalled his intention to leave Newcastle months ago, with Arsenal and Manchester City expressing interest. Ultimately, as he revealed in his first interview as a Spurs player, the desire to live in London influenced the final decision, with the Gunners choosing not to make a move.
Financial expert weighs in
Speaking to Football Insider, monetary guru Borson conceded that Tottenham overspent on Tonali - their new club-record arrival - but backed him to become a success. He also predicted that the valuation of stars looking to leave could drop later in the window.
"But Tonali was a player that Newcastle bought for a huge amount of money, £60million, I think it was,” Borson said. “They took the risk on him. There's been slight overpayment for someone like (Sandro) Tonali, I would say. But you have to remember, this is similar to (Mateus) Fernandes.
“It's worked. He's been a very, very good signing, he's still he's coming into the prime years of his career at 26. Why wouldn't they turn a profit on a signing like that? Of course, there's the gambling issue, but you would expect a player that's been signed for £60million, it's been a big success, to go for more.
"There's a lot of fuss being made about transfer fees. I don't think they're particularly out of kilter with previous seasons. I think we'll also see that in the second half of the transfer window, when teams try and clear out their squad members that they don't want, it's going to be very hard for teams to get big money for these players."
Why Sandro Tonali left Newcastle United
Tonali - now earning a reported £275,000 per week - highlighted “lifestyle” and “family” as the reasons for his Newcastle exit. He said: “It was a bit long. We had a sort of agreement with Newcastle, we spoke every day and we made it. They wanted the best from me, we wanted the best deal for them.
“We parted on excellent terms , we're all happy and I'm ready for this new adventure. Why Tottenham? De Zerbi played a huge role in this, and it's also a lifestyle and family choice after three years at Newcastle. De Zerbi deserves much of the credit; he did it not only as a Brescia and native and a friend, but also as a hard worker; he's committed to this.”