Tottenham Hotspur have announced the signing of Sandro Tonali from Newcastle United, subject to a work permit.
The 26-year-old Italy international midfielder joins for a reported club-record £92.5m, with top-ups taking the total package to £100m.
It’s the second big-money midfield signing in a week, following the capture of Mateus Fernandes from relegated West Ham United.
“Sandro is one of the best midfielders in Europe and we are delighted to welcome him to the Club.
“He has outstanding technical quality to go with real football intelligence, and has the character to thrive in a demanding, high-pressure environment. Sandro brings valuable experience at the highest level, both domestically and in European competition and I know our supporters will love his energy and commitment on the pitch.
“We are all excited to see him pull on our famous Lilywhite shirt for the first time.” – Spurs’ sporting director, Johan Lange
There’s usually a big overlap in the Venn diagram of players who command an exorbitant transfer fee and premium Fantasy picks.
Not in this case, however.
Tonali made 31 starts and appeared a further four times off the bench for Newcastle last season… and delivered just two attacking returns.
A season-long expected goal involvement (xGI) figure of 4.63 wasn’t much to shout about, either.
The season before was only marginally better, as Tonali scored four goals and assisted a further two.
It’s not like he’s a defensive contribution (DefCon) monster, either: he only banked eight DefCon points in 2025/26.
He’ll improve the Spurs midfield, no doubt, but he’s likely to be of little interest to FPL managers come the relaunch.