What Sandro Tonali directly told Roberto De Zerbi about his Tottenham Hotspur wish has been revealed by a reliable journalist, as another reporter claims that Cristian Romero wants to leave Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
TEAMtalk’s transfer insider, Graeme Bailey, has reported that Tottenham have agreed a £100million deal with Newcastle United for Tonali.
Sources have told us that Tottenham will pay Newcastle £92.5m upfront, with £7.5m in add-ons.
We understand that Tottenham hope to make the deal official before the weekend.
Bailey has reported that Tottenham manager Roberto De Zerbi personally wants his Italian compatriot at the club.
We also understand that working under the Italian manager was a factor in Tonali’s desire to move to the north London club.
‘Tonali told De Zerbi he wanted to join’ Tottenham
Transfer journalist Ben Jacobs has backed our claim, revealing that Tonali directly told De Zerbi that “he wanted to join” Tottenham.
Jacobs posted on X at 7:56pm on July 1: “Roberto De Zerbi key to the Sandro Tonali deal.
“Tonali told De Zerbi he wanted to join, and Spurs then pushed to pull off a statement signing.
“Chance to play under the Spurs manager a driving factor.
“Spurs agree Tonali and Fernandes within 24 hours for a combined total of £185m.
“It was always Spurs’ intent to do both.”
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Cristian Romero ‘wants to leave Tottenham’
While De Zerbi has managed to convince Tottenham to spend £100m on Tonali, the Italian manager could end up losing his star defender, Cristian Romero.
Romero signed a new contract with Tottenham only last summer, but after two successive seasons of finishing 17th in the Premier League table, the defender has had enough.
The 28-year-old is part of the Argentina squad at the 2026 World Cup, but it appears that he does not fancy coming back to North London.
According to Italian journalist Gianluigi Longari, who has over 127,000 followers on X, Romero wants to leave Spurs, with Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan after him.
Longari posted on X at 10:30am on July 1: “Cuti Romero wants to leave Tottenham despite De Zerbi’s high regard for him.
“The Argentine defender is being closely followed by Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.
“Costs too high for the Italian clubs, which still appreciate him as much as Inter does.”
Luka Vuskovic is leaving Tottenham
One defender who is certainly leaving Tottenham this summer is Luka Vuskovic.
Our transfer insider, Graeme Bailey, has been reporting about Brighton and Hove Albion’s desire to sign Vuskovic from Tottenham.
The 19-year-old Croatia international central defender spent the 2025/26 season on loan at German club Hamburg from Tottenham.
Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has now confirmed that Vuskovic will leave Tottenham and join Brighton in the summer transfer window.
Romano posted on X at 3:54pm on July 1: “EXCLUSIVE: Brighton agree deal to sign Luka Vušković from Tottenham, here we go!
“£46m fixed fee plus sell-on clause to bring the potential package over £50m.
“Massive signing for #BHAFC after personal terms also agreed.”
Romano added at 4:30pm: “More on Luka Vušković to Brighton exclusive story.
“Fee confirmed: £46m fixed, £4m add-ons, 20% sell-on, matching rights for Tottenham and contract until June 2031.
“Medical in the US.”