Sandro Tonali is a constant in the Italian football media.
Ever since he signed for Newcastle United back in summer 2023, a demoralised Italian football public and media has fantasised about seeing him return.
They aren’t used to seeing their best young homegrown talents leave Serie A so early in their careers, so for Sandro Tonali to join United from AC Milan shortly after turning 23, it was a bitter blow.
This made all the worse as the midfielder has excelled for both Newcastle United and Italy.
The most recent reminder was this week, Sandro Tonali man of the match with a brilliant volley and then an assist, as he led Italy to a 2-0 play-off semi-final win over Northern Ireland in Bergamo.
FIFA agent Claudio Anellucci has now been interviewed on 1 Station Radio, quizzed on Sandro Tonali Serie A and the Italian national team.
Asked about that win over Northern Ireland, Claudio Anellucci: “An incident and the game changed completely. And that incident was caused by one of the few high-quality players this national team has, Sandro Tonali.”
Inevitably, the conversation progressed to talking about the Newcastle United midfielder and where he will be playing his club football.
As always, the dream of Sandro Tonali returning to Serie A was top of the agenda.
This time it suggested to Claudio Anellucci that Napoli might buy Sandro Tonali this summer, the FIFA agent though giving a harsh reality check on that possibility: “If you consider that Newcastle bought Sandro Tonali from AC Milan for around €70 million (approx £61m), it’s hard to imagine a return to Italy. I believe Tonali is currently out of reach for any Italian club. I don’t think he wants to return to our league, nor that Newcastle would want to part with him, unless they’re looking for extremely high fees that Italian clubs can’t afford.”
The FIFA agent going on to explain further why no Serie A club will have a chance of taking Sandro Tonali away from Newcastle United.
Claudio Anellucci stating: “A club that has a player like Tonali, at this level and in this form, will never let him go. He’s playing in Europe’s top league, playing for one of the most fascinating clubs. I don’t think a player would make such a choice today [to come back to a Serie A club], and I say this with great regret.”