Sandro Tonali will complete his £100m move to Spurs after a difficult ending to his Newcastle United career
Sandro Tonali told Newcastle United chiefs he wanted a new challenge after three years on Tyneside ahead of his £100million exit from St James' Park.
It is also believed that Tonali was unsettled on Tyneside and his dip in form was noted by backroom staff who tried to get to the bottom of his below-par displays.
Head coach Eddie Howe was one of the first people to be told by Tonali he wanted to quit, with the pair enjoying an excellent bond after the midfielder was helped back from the brink of a crisis in 2023 when banned for betting offences during his time in Italy with AC Milan.
The Magpies were informed that Tonali wanted to seek a new club via his agent Giuseppe Riso earlier this month, with a number of sides approached over a possible deal, including Arsenal, Man City and Tottenham Hotspur.
Chronicle Live has been told that United's preference was not to sell to Tottenham, but they were the first to hit the £100m asking price of Newcastle and were eager to push the deal through as Man City arrived on the scene.
Sources close to the deal have indicated that Spurs became irked by Newcastle's insistence of demanding £100m, but were told they deal would be done for no less.
Newcastle felt, via Tonali's body language late in the season, that he was 'ready' for a move after internal concerns about his form throughout the 2025/26 season in comparison to the previous campaign.
It's why the deal has been deemed as a big positive by Newcastle after they conducted a sale at the same value as Elliot Anderson and Declan Rice, who also made £100m moves to Man City and Arsenal respectively.
Bearing in mind Tonali's value plummeted close to zero after his 10-month FIFA ban for illegal betting, the feeling at Newcastle is that Howe and his backroom staff did a good job to get him such a high-profile exit.
The transfer fee is now set to be reinvested into the first-team with Newcastle looking to sign players in the lower 20s bracket.
Newcastle will look to get the ball rolling with the addition of Bazoumana Toure from Hoffenheim, with arrangements for a medical and flight to Tyneside in place.
Toure will come in for around £40m, but the deal could not have unfolded without the sale of Tonali, according to sources on Tyneside.
Johan Manzambi of Frieburg and Archie Gray from Spurs are also on sporting director Ross Wilson's hit-list, but CEO David Hopkinson is also playing an active part in negotiations.
Chronicle Live understands that every penny that can be spent of the Sandro Tonali deal will be in the next few weeks.
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