“We are delighted to announce the signing of Sandro Tonali from AC Milan. The 23-year-old joins the Magpies for an undisclosed fee and has initially agreed a contract at St. James’ Park until 2028. Welcome to Newcastle United, Sandro » here is what Newcastle released in a press release at the beginning of July. Fourth in the Premier League and qualified for the Champions League, the club based on the banks of the Tyne launched its transfer window incisively by recovering one of the best midfielders on the planet. Coming off a solid year at AC Milan, where he took part in the epic journey to the semi-final of the Champions League and where he was one of the architects of the title during the 2021/2022 season, Sandro Tonali is arrived with high expectations at the Magpies. And for the moment, the trend is rather positive.
If there are very good things individually, Newcastle’s complicated start to the season with 3 defeats in 5 days (against Manchester City, Liverpool and Brighton, therefore a difficult schedule) has not helped. Moreover, he did not play the last match against Brentford (1-0 victory) in order to be preserved following a small physical problem. “He would only have been used on Saturday in an emergency, I was keen not to play him so that he could perform well for the match against Milan on Tuesday in the Champions League” declared his coach Eddie Howe after the match against the Bees. Against the Rossoneri, he should start well in a match where his heart will be torn between the club he supports and the one whose jersey he wears. But in the Magpies tunic, he intends to confirm the good dispositions shown so far.
Promising beginnings
For his first match in the Premier League during the brilliant demonstration against Aston Villa (5-1), he perfectly launched his adventure in white and black with a goal after only six minutes played. Valuable in recovery but also in construction where he slipped many good balls for his teammates. Toons legend Alan Shearer was totally won over: “I thought Gordon was superb, Isak was magnificent, Harvey Barnes on his debut when he came on with a goal and an assist, but the star of the show was Tonali. For a debut, it was as good as it gets. It was the perfect midfield performance. A goal, assists, tackles, a wide variety of passes, progressive runs into the box, the timing was perfect. He was really superb.”
His coach Eddie Howe was also charmed after the meeting: “We followed him for a long, long time, and paid a lot of money for him because I fell in love with watching him play last year. He is an exceptional talent. He can do a little bit of everything. Very similar to our other midfielders, he has a combination of many attributes that I think will suit the Premier League. It’s a match. I don’t want to go too far and put more pressure on him, but it’s a really good start and I’m just happy he looks confident in his jersey, and the fans certainly appreciated it. It’s a beautiful thing to see.” Since then, Sandro Tonali has confirmed this by showing good things against Manchester City and especially Liverpool despite the defeats.
Forming a nice midfield tandem with Bruno Guimaraes, the identity of the third man remains open between Joelinton, Elliott Anderson and Sean Longstaff who are rotating for the moment. Focused on his experience at Newcastle, Sandro Tonali will have to fight with his emotions this Tuesday. At the time of the draw, Eddie Howe admitted that he had spoken with the player about this particular appointment for him: “I did it and I think it’s a good thing for him. I hope he gets the welcome he deserves for what he has done for the club and how much he loves Milan. I’m sure he’s looking forward to the match. I won’t go into details, but I think he was happy to go home.” Now focused on his English adventure, Sandro Tonali presents himself with confidence when it comes to meeting his former teammates.
