Tottenham's Pursuit of Sandro Tonali Gains Momentum
Tottenham Hotspur’s summer window already carried a statement feel. Now they are aiming straight at the heart of the Premier League’s midfield elite.
Sandro Tonali, one of Newcastle United’s crown jewels, has emerged as the centrepiece of Spurs’ next big swing. And crucially, he is understood to be keen on making the move to north London.
Spurs go from busy to bold
Tottenham have not tiptoed into this window. They have already snapped up Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi on free transfers and are working on deals for Savinho, Jan Paul van Hecke and Joao Palhinha. That alone would signal serious intent.
But this is different. This is Tottenham trying to rip a key pillar out of a domestic rival and build their midfield around him.
Fabrizio Romano revealed on Monday that Spurs have “entered the race” to sign Tonali, with the club braced to battle Manchester City and Arsenal for his signature. The message from inside Tottenham is clear: this is the level they now want to shop at.
Roberto De Zerbi is at the heart of it. The new Spurs head coach has identified Tonali as the midfielder to elevate the team’s core, the “new star for the midfield” in Romano’s words, and he is pushing hard from within the club to get it done.
De Zerbi, Tonali and a shared city
Managers often talk about “profiles” and “fits”. De Zerbi has something more personal.
Both he and Tonali come from Brescia, the football‑mad city in northern Italy that has produced its share of playmakers and leaders. According to Romano, that shared background has created a particularly strong connection between coach and target.
“It’s not just about being Italian; it’s also about being from the same city,” Romano explained. De Zerbi, he says, is pressing internally at Tottenham to land Tonali “as soon as possible”.
That kind of alignment matters. Spurs are selling Tonali not just a club, but a project built around a coach he trusts and understands.
Tonali’s stance: ready for Spurs, even without Europe
The player’s position is often the hinge in these heavyweight deals. On this one, it tilts towards Tottenham.
Romano’s latest update is emphatic: Tonali is “keen on a move to Tottenham”. He is “open to joining Tottenham” and “ready to join Spurs even without European football, even after a terrible season for them”.
That last line is telling. Spurs cannot offer Champions League football, nor even the Europa League. Yet Tonali is said to be drawn to the project, the chance to work under De Zerbi, and the promise of being central to a rebuild rather than another piece in a crowded superclub puzzle.
For a player linked persistently with Arsenal and other Big Six sides, that is a significant shift in tone.
Newcastle dig in and name their price
Wanting a player is one thing. Getting him out of Newcastle is something else entirely.
Newcastle are under less immediate pressure to sell after cashing in on Anthony Gordon. That deal eased concerns around profit and sustainability rules and gave the club more room to manoeuvre. Tonali is no longer the obvious asset to sacrifice.
TEAMtalk report that Newcastle have “no intention of making it easy” for any club pursuing the midfielder. Internally, the stance is firm: they will only begin to consider a sale if offers go beyond £100 million.
That figure plants Tonali firmly in the bracket of the most expensive midfielders in Premier League history. It also serves as a message to suitors like Tottenham, Manchester City and Arsenal: if you want to test Newcastle’s resolve, you will have to do it at full force.
Romano echoes the difficulty. “It is never easy to strike a deal with Newcastle,” he notes, even as he stresses that Spurs “will be on it”.
A test of Tottenham’s new ambition
This chase now becomes a test of how far Tottenham are prepared to go to match the rhetoric of their “new ambitious project”.
They have the coach pushing. They have the player’s willingness. They have already moved early and aggressively in the market. The missing piece is whether they step into the financial territory Newcastle have marked out.
If Spurs do decide to cross that line and Newcastle blink, De Zerbi could walk into the new season with a Brescia-born general at the heart of his midfield and a transfer that would reshape how Tottenham are viewed at the top end of the league.
If they don’t, the question will linger: how serious are Spurs about crashing the party dominated by the likes of City and Arsenal, rather than just circling on the outside?
