Tottenham Hotspur are in positive talks with the camp of Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali over a potential summer move.
There has been no contact so far with Newcastle but, if an agreement looks possible with the player, club-to-club contact can be expected to follow. The transfer fee is considered a bigger challenge for Spurs than a deal with Tonali.
Tottenham are prepared to push hard for a statement signing, which is being driven by head coach Roberto De Zerbi and is backed by the ownership.
Tonali, 26, has also attracted interest from Arsenal and Manchester City but at this stage Spurs are the most advanced over a proposed deal.
The Athletic reported in June that the Italy international may depart Newcastle this summer if their financial demands are met.
Tonali’s Newcastle contract runs to 2029 and the club have a unilateral ability to extend his contract by a further year.
Tottenham have already been active in the transfer window, completing a move for Andy Robertson from Liverpool and Marcos Senesi from Bournemouth. They have also shown an interest in Middlesbrough’s Hayden Hackney but The Athletic reported that the midfielder’s preference is to join Everton.
The Athletic reported in February that Tonali had been offered to Arsenal by the midfielder’s agent, though no official talks took place, and he stayed at St James’ Park.
Tonali has long been admired by Arsenal sporting director Berta, who was contacted by the 26-year-old’s representative in the winter window. However, Newcastle were unwilling to do business late in the window and their asking price went beyond Arsenal’s financial capabilities at the time.
Newcastle have already sold Anthony Gordon to Barcelona for €80million (£69m, $92.3m) this summer, while goalkeeper Ewen Jaouen has arrived from Reims.
Tonali joined Newcastle from Milan in 2023 for a fee in the region of €70million. In October of that year, he was banned from all football activity for 10 months after being found guilty of breaching rules on gambling by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC).
He returned from his suspension in August 2024 and has been an important figure since. Tonali has made 110 appearances for the club, scoring 10 goals and providing 10 assists. He made 53 appearances in all competitions last season as Newcastle reached the last-16 of the Champions League, but failed to qualify for next season’s competition after finishing 12th in the Premier League.
Tonali signing would be statement of intent from Spurs
Analysis from Tottenham Hotspur correspondent Jay Harris
Spurs should be admired for the ambition they have shown in this transfer window. They have already completed the signings of Robertson and Senesi and have submitted two offers for Brighton & Hove Albion defender Jan Paul van Hecke.
They have acted shrewdly but pulling off a deal for Tonali would be a real statement of intent under De Zerbi. Fans could start truly getting excited again about the future after narrowly avoiding relegation on the final day of last season.
Spurs’ midfield has needed upgrading for the last two years. Yves Bissouma is leaving when his contract expires at the end of the month and there is uncertainty over whether Joao Palhinha’s loan from Bayern Munich will be made permanent. Rodrigo Bentancur impressed after returning from a hamstring injury for the final six games of the season and Conor Gallagher showed flashes of his quality following De Zerbi’s appointment. Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray are talented prospects but Tonali would instantly raise the team’s level.
The Italy international is a powerful box-to-box midfielder and pairing him alongside James Maddison and Bentancur is a tantalising prospect. It will be a difficult deal to pull off though. Tottenham’s club-record signing is the £65million they paid Bournemouth to sign Dominic Solanke in August 2024. Newcastle signed Tonali from Milan in July 2023 for a fee in the region of €70m and could expect to make a significant profit.
Spurs are committed to overhauling their squad this summer but the awkward question remains of how they will fund all these moves. Along with their interest in Tonali and Van Hecke, The Athletic has reported they want to sign a new left winger this summer with Manchester City’s Savinho a target. They need to sell players to raise funds and Brighton have given them a tricky dilemma by making a £30m bid for Luka Vuskovic. There is a strong chance captain Cristian Romero will leave, but they might have to wait until after his commitments with Argentina at the World Cup, and there is also uncertainty over the futures of Richarlison, Guglielmo Vicario and Radu Dragusin.
Spurs have traditionally held back on huge wages but senior figures have spoken in public about the need to address this. Convincing Pedro Porro to sign a new deal and following it up with the signing of Tonali would go some way to convince Spurs fans that this truly is a new era — even if the same majority shareholders, the Lewis family, remain in charge.