A lot of interest in Italy when it comes to Sandro Tonali and speculation about a summer move, with as ever AC Milan dreaming of the midfielder one day returning to the club.
Whether or not the Newcastle United midfielder leaves St James’ Park, one thing is for sure.
Sandro Tonali won’t be signing for AC Milan or indeed any other Serie A club.
The wages involved and a transfer fee of £100m+ are way beyond what any Italian club could stretch to.
However, AC Milan do have a financial interest if Sandro Tonali makes any move away from Tyneside.
Italian journalist Matteo Moretto has revealed that if Newcastle United sell Sandro Tonali, it will trigger extra cash for AC Milan.
United signed Sandro Tonali in a reported £55m deal back in 2023, however, Matteo says that if the midfielder now leaves Newcastle United: “AC Milan will receive a financial reward that doesn’t involve a percentage of future sales or anything like that. It doesn’t exist. They will receive around a million [euros] from a solidarity contribution.”
At the current exchange rate, a million euros equates to around £865,000.
On Tuesday it was reported that Tottenham are in talks with representatives of Sandro Tonali ahead of a potential move from Newcastle United.
The usually very reliable David Ornstein of The Athletic with the story.
The man from The Athletic reporting: ‘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. ‘
I must admit to feeling simply bemused by even the suggestion there is a possibility that Sandro Tonali could end up playing for Tottenham.
Spurs have avoided relegation by just one place in both the 2024/25 and 2025/26 season and appear trapped in a relentless cycle of hiring and firing managers in rapid succession. Roberto de Zerbi is the fourth Tottenham manager in place since the 2024/25 season ended.
A suppose there is a chance that Tottenham could potentially meet wage expectations, though surely then Sandro Tonali would have to become the best paid player at Spurs. As to satisfying Tonali’s ambitions on the pitch, I can’t imagine how Tottenham could convince him on that front.
David Ornstein also points out: ‘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.’
Ornstein’s work colleague Jay Harris, who covers Tottenham for The Athletic, also gave his view on a potential Sandro Tonali signing: ‘They have acted shrewdly [bringing in free transfers Robertson and Senesi] 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. 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.’
Harris adding: ‘Spurs are committed to overhauling their squad this summer but the awkward question remains of how they will fund all these moves. 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.’
My gut feeling (and hope!) is that Sandro Tonali will still be playing for Newcastle United next season and certainly I would be amazed if a move to Tottenham became the reality.