Sandro Tonali is set to join Tottenham Hotspur. It had looked like he had a foot out the Newcastle United exit door for a while. Now, several reliable sources have confirmed that a deal is as good as done. The Italian will be playing in a Spurs jersey from next season.
To be honest, a lot of people had expected this transfer saga to drag on for much longer. Something similar to the Alexander Isak to Liverpool move from last summer.
So, Tottenham Hotspur deserve credit for not letting things drag on. It is best for all parties involved. Now, the Magpies have a ton of time to seek out a replacement and sign him.
That does not mean that the Magpies will be happy with how this entire situation has been handled though. But there unhappiness might be more with the individual than the club signing him. And it is not hard to see why.
Newcastle United ‘fuming’ with Sandro Tonali as Tottenham Hotspur move agreed
According to a report from Football Insider, Newcastle United are believed to be “fuming” at the way Tonali has engineered a move away from St James’ Park this summer.
According to the same report, former Manchester United chief scout Mick Brown said on the situation involving Tottenham, Newcastle and Tonali:
“Newcastle have every right to be fuming with Tonali and how he has handled this.
“He’s played a big part in pushing for the move away, it’s been no secret that he’s been looking at different clubs and his agent has held talks to engineer a move away.”
It might not be just about the fact that Tonali is leaving though. One has to recognise that Newcastle United stood beside the player during difficult times, when he was banned from the game.
So, they would have at least expected a bit more from him, when the time came to leave. If Tonali had not seemed so eager to leave, perhaps the Magpies could have gotten an even bigger transfer fee out of his exit. Probably closer to what Man City are paying to bring in Newcastle United academy graduate, Elliot Anderson, from Nottingham Forest. As Brown added:
“So from Newcastle’s point of view, they feel they were owed a bit of loyalty, but the player obviously doesn’t feel the same.
“It’s a harsh reality in football, players are always going to want to move to bigger clubs, so the interest in a move to Arsenal or Man City was what seemed to turn his head.
“Whether joining Tottenham will be the right decision for him, we’ll see, but Newcastle will now be forced to find a replacement for a player they didn’t want to lose.”
Tonali’s move a sign of lack of ambition?
Another thing that needs to be taken into consideration is the fact that Tonali is leaving Newcastle United for a club that is coming off back-to-back 17th place finishes in the league.
Yes, Newcastle were 12th last season and missed out on Europe. It would be understandable if Tonali decided to move to a club with Champions League football on offer.
With clubs like Arsenal and Man City being linked with Tonali, that might have been a possibility. Instead, he has joined a team who won’t be in Europe, just like the Magpies.
Fair play to Tottenham for being able to attract such players even after a poor campaign. That being said, is such a move a sign of lack of ambition on the part of Tonali or just someone who believes in the long-term picture of Tottenham?
