“I fell in love watching him play the game.”
Eddie Howe is not prone to hyperbole. Sandro Tonali had just played his first game in English football in August 2023 — an impressive goalscoring debut against Aston Villa — and his Newcastle United head coach did not attempt to hide the strength of his admiration for the Italy international midfielder.
During Newcastle’s six-month pursuit of Tonali, then of Milan, in the first half of that year, Howe repeatedly expressed that same sentiment in private.
And he is far from alone in being taken with him. That is the effect the 26-year-old can have on those who watch him closely over a sustained period.
As reported by The Athletic, as well as interest from Arsenal and Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur are in positive talks with the player’s camp, with the transfer fee considered a bigger challenge for them than doing a deal with Tonali.
So why do Newcastle value him so highly? And what does he offer the Premier League clubs eyeing him?
At Brescia, where Tonali made his breakthrough and was part of a promotion-winning side, he was adored. At Milan, where his father, Giandomenico, is “one of the Curva”, he was cherished not only because he was one of their own, but due to the influential performances that helped deliver a Champions League semi-final appearance and a first Serie A title in 11 years.
On Tyneside, despite serving a 10-month suspension for betting offences and so missing most of his first season, Tonali swiftly struck up an enduring bond with supporters.
He is known as Newcastle’s “midfield maestro from Milano” and, following a positional change, was arguably the critical factor in the club qualifying for the Champions League in 2024-25 and in ending their 70-year domestic trophy drought by lifting the Carabao Cup — something Tonali had vowed to do as an attempt to make amends for the support he received during that lengthy ban.
Why he evokes such a strong emotional response is difficult to explain with words or visuals. What Tonali is, what he does and what he brings can only truly be appreciated by observing him in action over a prolonged period.
The Italian is a midfielder, but he is not an out-and-out defensive screener, nor is he a box-to-box type or a metronomic passer. Tonali is somewhere in between; he can do a bit of everything and, physically and aerobically, is ideally suited to the Premier League.
Newcastle insiders describe Tonali as boasting a distinctive profile as a midfielder and that uniqueness — alongside his quality — makes him almost impossible to replace like-for-like, especially in the markets the club can afford to go shopping in this summer.
While Howe would love to continue to build his team around the Tonali-Bruno Guimaraes axis, Newcastle have anticipated interest and the expectation is that the Italian would be open to exploring a move away (even if he has not personally communicated that to the St James’ hierarchy).
But with Tonali effectively contracted until 2030 — his deal runs to the end of the 2028-29 season, but the club can unilaterally extend it by another year — Newcastle will demand a sizeable fee, especially should Elliot Anderson, their former academy graduate, leave Nottingham Forest in this window for in excess of £120million, which would not be a shock.
Throw Tonali’s salary on top of whatever the transfer fee is likely to be and Newcastle believe there are only a handful of clubs in the world who can afford him, a situation which has all but ended any hopes he may have of returning to play in Serie A.
At his best, which he displayed throughout the second half of 2024-25, Tonali warrants such a lofty price tag due to his consistency and relentlessness — he puts the engine into engine room.
His athleticism and endurance — which Howe and his staff worked tirelessly to improve further during Tonali’s time out during his ban, increasing his speed, tweaking his running action and bolstering his tactical awareness — allied with his ability to sense (and snuff out) danger set him apart.
Tonali’s capacity for making great and often match-defining recovery runs, even in the final throes of games, is extraordinary. Some insiders at Newcastle refer to him as their “ultimate insurance policy” against counter-attacks, so proficient is he at thwarting them.
Remove those 10 months when Tonali was not allowed to play and his availability record is also exceptional. Only defender Malick Thiaw (4,643) played more minutes than his 4,009 across all competitions last season for Newcastle, and only the same player started a greater number of matches for the club (51 to 47).
In possession, Tonali is technically proficient, comfortable using both feet, strong at dead-ball delivery — even if he has not necessarily shown that yet at Newcastle — and tactically intelligent.
Tonali joined in 2023, the summer after Newcastle had qualified for the Champions League for the first time in 20 years. The Italian was a statement signing, prised away from one of European football’s giants for £55million by a nouveau-riche Premier League club with grand ambitions.
Andy Howe, a senior recruitment executive at Newcastle and Eddie’s nephew, had led a half-year courtship — one that had appeared forlorn, only for Milan’s economic requirements and the sales-pitch Newcastle presented to conspire to facilitate a deal. Eddie Howe praised Tonali but also shocked the midfielder by telling him where he could improve, with the head coach promising to turn him into one of Europe’s best midfielders.
Arguably, given any anticipated transfer fee and the calibre of club now chasing Tonali, he has helped to do just that.
Yet his three years on Tyneside have certainly not been straightforward.
Newcastle’s recruitment team believed Tonali could be a rare, dual-role midfielder; able to thrive in either a No 8 or a No 6 position. He was viewed as more of the former at first, and that is where he initially played for Newcastle — and, following that electrifying bow against Villa, he was fairly underwhelming during his first two months in England.
Then, in the October, Tonali was informed he was being investigated by prosecutors in Italy, accused of gambling on matches from the 2021-22 season through to 2023-24.
He admitted to betting and cooperated fully — his agent, Giuseppe Riso, claims his client suffered a “gambling illness” — and was handed an 18-month suspension by the Italian Football Federation, eight months of which were commuted. The following April, Tonali was given a two-month suspended ban by the English FA along with a warning about his future conduct, having gambled on football between August and October 2023.
As one senior Newcastle figure told The Athletic in 2024, “Sandro’s ban absolutely f**ked us.”
The Italian, though, is said to now be fully rehabilitated.
Newcastle stuck by Tonali during that suspension, offering him all the support he needed, something for which the player remains grateful. “They never judged me or made me feel burdened,” he said of Newcastle and their fans once he returned in August 2024.
Tonali did not initially thrive when he was back in the side. Deployed as a No 8, he struggled to influence matches and a midfield trio of him, Joelinton and Guimaraes did not blend smoothly.
It was only when Howe redeployed Tonali in the No 6 position, swapping roles with Guimaraes, that the head coach unearthed the Italian’s potential. Newcastle were transformed as a side, and Tonali was the main reason for that. Having won back possession, he would then send his colleagues forwards in attack; rarely was he the creator, but Tonali was almost always involved early on in moves.
Having inspired Newcastle to Carabao Cup final glory and Champions League qualification — he was adamant that, after lifting silverware in the March, the club had to kick on and return to Europe’s elite competition, rather than settle for having won a first major domestic trophy in 70 years — Tonali thrived throughout most of 2025.
Yet once he was asked about his future last November, stories began to emerge about prospective moves and his form suffered. Tonali was almost always available for the remainder of the season just gone, but he rarely defined matches in an off-the-ball capacity in the way he had done throughout the previous one.
There are still clear signs for improvement for a player who has yet to represent his country at a major tournament (due to Italy messing up qualification for the 2022 and 2026 World Cups and his suspension, which took in the European Championship in between).
Out of possession, Tonali has often excelled for Newcastle but, on the ball, he has yet to really fulfil his potential. He should score and assist far more than he does, with only 10 goals and another nine laid on across 110 appearances for the club. No Premier League player shot on more occasions (37) without scoring last season.
At Milan, Tonali often played in a double pivot in midfield, something he has rarely done at Newcastle, and perhaps he may prove even better suited to that type of formation, given he is neither an out-and-out No 6 nor an out-and-out No 8.
Howe may “love” Tonali, but whether Newcastle can prolong that love affair with clubs circling this summer remains to be seen.