adminNewcastle United will seek £100m to sell star midfielder Sandro Tonali after dismissing “out of hand” an opening offer from Tottenham Hotspur that fell “at least” £20m short of their valuation.
Newcastle have had a challenging start to what they hope will be a transformative summer, and after missing out on Victor Munoz who joined Liverpool despite agreeing a deal with the player, his agent and Osasuna last week they have to handle the Tonali situation skilfully.
It is understood that, although he has not formally asked for a move, Tonali is seeking a fresh challenge and has attracted interest from Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham.
Spurs’ approach, which was made on Thursday, represents the first club-to-club communication regarding the Italy midfielder.
Some at Newcastle are sceptical about the Spurs approach, but Tonali appears ready to entertain it. He is yet to agree personal terms with Tottenham, and their approach may prompt Manchester City to step up their own interest in the player.
From Newcastle, the message is clear: there is no decision for them to make because no club has come close to a valuation that is benchmarked against the amount Nottingham Forest expect to receive for England international Elliot Anderson this summer.
Newcastle place Tonali in a similar bracket and, with issues around complying with UEFA’s squad cost ratio rules, they need to extract maximum value from any player they sell.
The optics of another major player leaving, just a few weeks after Anthony Gordon joined Barcelona in a deal worth around £85m, are certainly not good for Newcastle, who always acknowledged there would be some pain this summer.
Losing him to Manchester City or Arsenal would be one thing, but Spurs are one of the clubs Newcastle hoped to surpass in their battle to become the “best of the rest” under majority owners PIF.
Newcastle have finished above Tottenham in the league for two consecutive seasons and, while Spurs have larger revenue streams and the attraction of a London location, losing Tonali to them would be viewed as a major warning sign for a project that supporters are increasingly beginning to question.
Club sources dispute suggestions of a lack of ambition and it is understood that work is being carried out on multiple deals. Monaco’s Lamine Camara, for example, is one of the alternatives being considered should Tonali leave, but Newcastle have encountered difficulties completing ambitious transfers recently.
They spent weeks working on a deal for Victor Munoz, securing agreements from the player, his family and his agent, while also beating Aston Villa to the move. Munoz had reportedly assured Newcastle that he preferred a move to St James’ Park over Liverpool, only for the Reds to hijack the transfer at the final stage.
It is understood that Newcastle are reviewing the collapse of that deal and examining what lessons can be learned from the process involving a player who was permitted to meet Premier League representatives during Spain’s World Cup camp in Atlanta.
As for Tonali, it is not impossible that he remains at St James’ Park, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to see how he stays given the speculation surrounding his future.
Sources admitted at the start of the summer that a couple of major sales would likely be necessary to unlock spending power during a crucial transfer window. However, there had been hopes that outgoing transfers would be balanced by at least one significant incoming signing.
There will be understandable disappointment among supporters if Tonali seeks to move on so soon after Newcastle stood by him during his year-long suspension for gambling offences. However, the absence of European football is proving costly, with other players also understood to be open to moves away from the club.
Abdulhafiz Teslim
admin
