da poker： Newcastle United have secured the blockbuster signing of Sandro Tonali from AC Milan. The midfielder arrives on Tyneside after signing a five-year contract, becoming Eddie Howe's first major deal of the summer transfer window.
da lvbet： Tonali joins with the Magpies preparing for a first Champions League campaign in 20 years, with their new Italian a semi-finalist last term, as his Milan side were knocked out by neighbours – and beaten finalists – Inter.
It marks a statement of intent from Howe and PIF as Newcastle look to consolidate their place among England's elite – their fourth-place finish last season was their highest since the days of Sir Bobby Robson, who secured the Toon's most recent qualification to Europe's premier competition.
But how will Tonali affect the Newcastle team? Football FanCast takes a look at what we can expect from the Italian star as he prepares to make his Premier League bow.
Who is Sandro Tonali? Position: Centre-midfield; also capable of playing as a roaming no 8 and a half-6 Age: 23 Club: AC Milan Nationality: Italian Height: 5 foot 11 Value: £55m What were Tonali's stats like in 2022/23? Games played – Serie A: 34 / Champions League: 12 Goals (domestic): 2; underperformed xG of 2.4 Assists (domestic): 7; overperformed xA of 5.7 Pass completion: 75%
The 23-year-old is a typical ‘Milanista’, born in Lodi – south-east of Milan, Tonali is a huge fan of the club, and despite the cliché, it really was a dream come true for him when he transferred from Brescia to the Rossoneri in July 2021 on a five-year-deal, with fees totalling €25m (£21.6m).
He told Milan News: “In the summer of 2020 I had talked a lot with my mum, my girlfriend and my agent, I dreamed of Milan. The first days were a frenzy. The first year was difficult: dividing being a fan and player, it wasn’t easy, but after a period of adjustment, I made it.”
Not short of passion, Tonali was so determined to force a move to Milan that he took a €400k annual pay cut (from €1.6m to €1.2m per year), which assisted the negotiations that took place for a considerable amount of time, as well as snubbing more lucrative offers from other clubs.
What is Tonali's best position?
Tonali spent most of last season playing in a double pivot as a No 6 in a 4-2-3-1 formation for Milan. However, the Italian possesses the versatility to also play as a roaming No 8 who likes to play in the half-spaces between the wingers and the No 10.
This versatility is something that Eddie Howe highly admires in his players, with the likes of Joelinton, Joe Willock and Anthony Gordon just a few of the many midfielders he has utilised in more than three different positions throughout the season.
Additionally, although Tonali is typically a ‘regista’, this fluidity to play a No 6/No 8 hybrid would help to create a dynamic passing structure in the Magpies’ build-up play as well as in transition. In turn, this would add a level of unpredictability which would benefit Howe’s men, with pundits bemoaning other sides being able to suss Newcastle out in the second half of the campaign.
Despite many defensive midfielders dropping to receive the ball between their team’s two centre-backs – something Jonjo Shelvey had always done – Tonali consistently positions himself in the passing lanes between the opposition's press. This would allow Newcastle to further control the possession in the early stages of the defensive build-up and further encourage the team to play out from the back – something Howe likes to do.
This would give Newcastle the option to continue playing long balls to the likes of Joelinton and Callum Wilson, who both attain enough physicality to win a lot of their aerial duels, which would be effective in games where the opposition is playing with a medium block.
If Newcastle were to sign the 23-year-old, he would undoubtedly be deployed as a No 6 in the centre of the Toon's midfield trio within their 4-3-3 formation. This would allow Bruno Guimaraes to play as an attacking no 8, which is what the Brazilian considers to be his most effective position.
Consequently, if United are to sign an elite CDM – in this case, Tonali – Sean Longstaff would become a squad player and used as a rotation option throughout the season in the FA Cup, Carabao Cup and the Champions League.
What will Tonali offer to Newcastle?
One of Tonali’s best attributes is his ball progression which is assisted by his excellent vision and keenness to move possession forward. He managed 159 recorded progressive passes, which is pretty exceptional – for reference, this is something only Guimaraes and Kieran Trippier did more often last season (as per FBref).
The Italian also plays with both feet comfortably and is great at regaining the ball from a high press, which is a solid attribute to have in the Premier League with the ever-growing deployment of high presses, even from bottom-half clubs.
Tonali plays with very high aggression and is a tenacious ball-winner. His physical strength has really developed in the last year and is now one of his marquee attributes. This was initially hindered in 2020 with the player suffering from multiple muscular problems, yet has since been put aside.
In terms of his press, he would suit Howe’s intensity well. Although not blessed with a great overall pace, the player's mentality and aggression combine well to help him press effectively. Under Stefano Pioli at Milan, he was a cardinal mechanism in the way Milan pressed; rather than simply rushing to the ball, Tonali alternatively presses “intelligently”, meaning he not only applies pressure to the opposition, but also cuts other teams' most common passing lanes off, forcing mistakes.
When exploring his defensive actions, statistically, Tonali made 64 tackles, 34 blocks and 25 interceptions last season – very similar to Guimaraes, who made 78 tackles, 28 blocks and 36 interceptions.
Yet, as previously mentioned, the 23-year-old can also play as a roaming No 8, so let’s take a look at what he’s like in the attack.
In terms of player development, Tonali has gradually become more statistically involved in the attack over the last two years since joining Milan, accumulating 16 goal involvements in his last two seasons.
The midfielder initially struggled to make an impact in his first season, making only 17 starts for the club and failing to register a single goal or assist. However, Tonali openly admitted he felt an added pressure when joining the Italian giants as he was such a huge fan of the club, and naturally, that was expected for a 20-year-old.
Now playing with more confidence, he’s a player who makes surging runs depending on the type of attack. For example, playing under a conventional gegenpress for Pioli, which emphasises pressing and vertical counter-transitions, Tonali would tend to run into space in the counter-attacking phase and position himself between the lines of the opposition's centre-backs and full-backs.
This was something he developed playing for Brescia as his team generally only had around 40% of the ball and scored their goals through counter-attacking. However, with Milan averaging 56% possession, Tonali likes to be on the ball a lot more and dictate play.
In fact, he accumulated the fourth-highest amount of touches in Milan’s squad with 1,836, which was only behind defenders Fikayo Tomori, Pierre Kalulu and Theo Hernandez.
Tonali enjoys playing direct, progressive balls in the final third by deploying low-driven passes to the forwards, who drop between the lines to make use of his outstanding vision.
Furthermore, the midfielder likes to switch the play to break out of presses, as well as using his fine level of agility to dribble into open space. Indeed, he progressed the ball 2,809 yards last season, though he was only successful with 39.1% of his take-ons, which is something he needs to improve.
His shooting is generally good, but can still be worked on. His numbers are nowhere near as impressive as Nicolo Barella's, who Newcastle were also linked with recently. He created 3.35 shot-creating actions per 90 last season, with Guimaraes, only slightly bettering that, averaging 3.63 SCAs per 90 in the most recent term.
However, it appears that Tonali can be wasteful in some attacking positions and often rushes a pass, working on this would help increase his passing accuracy rise from 75%.
In terms of set pieces, he is excellent at dead-ball passes, often opting to use an in-swinging technique to deliver the ball into the box. Yet, it is unlikely that Tonali would be good enough to remove Kieran Trippier from set-piece duties.
All in all, there is clear promise in the 23-year-old, and whether he is able to pay off his transfer fee will be down to how well he can gear the Toon towards further successes, with the club's long trophy drought looking as vulnerable as it has for a long while.
Why are Newcastle signing Tonali?
Overall, Tonali’s expected transfer to the Magpies is marvellous business from the club. He is one of the most sought-after young midfielders in the world and already boasts a solid amount of experience in the Champions League. He also knows what it takes to win domestic titles, having won the Serie A with Milan in the 2021/22 season.
Newcastle will be delighted to all but have the transfer wrapped up so early on in the window, so the midfielder will be able to freshen up and adapt to Howe’s style of play before pre-season starts. The golden age really is back on Tyneside.