Sandro Tonali’s agent has cast further doubt on the Italian star’s Newcastle future and suggested the player could leave the club if they fail to qualify for the Champions League.
Reports on deadline day claimed Tonali had been offered to Arsenal, which proved incorrect, but it marked the start of what could represent one of the biggest transfer stories of the summer.
Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea are all interested in the 25-year-old midfielder, who joined Newcastle for £52million in July 2023.
The agent most closely associated with Tonali, Giuseppe Riso, has spoken publicly on his player for the second time in less than a week, hinting it could take Newcastle securing a Champions League place for him to remain at St James’ Park.
‘Newcastle are having a hard time letting go of Sandro, and he wants to lead the club to the Champions League,’ Riso told Tuttosport.
‘We’ll evaluate and decide what to do in the summer. These transfer discussions will take place later. We’ll see how the season ends and then we’ll decide what to do.
Sandro Tonali’s agent appears to have cast further doubt on the player’s future at Newcastle
Tonali was spotted deep in conversation with Pep Guardiola amid Man City’s interest in him
‘There’s no preference at the moment. It’s still early. What we’re saying today won’t apply tomorrow. Newcastle couldn’t let him go now, and there’s no point in moving, especially since Sandro is very attached to the club.’
Newcastle face a battle to rejoin Europe’s top table as they are 11th in the Premier League, eight points behind Manchester United in fourth and seven adrift of Chelsea in fifth.
Riso had earlier told Sky Italia that they had ‘never had any conversation’ with Arsenal and Newcastle ‘were never going to let Tonali leave in January’.
‘There’s absolutely nothing to it,’ he added.
But he then said: ‘We will see around March about Sandro’s valuation, but only if Newcastle decide to open doors.’
Tonali himself had cast doubt on his Newcastle future back in October. ‘This is a tough question because in football you need to think year on year,’ he said.
‘I don’t want to say, “I want to stay here 10 years”, and in two, three, four, five years I will go. I want to think, just for me, year on year. Last summer was tough for us, for Alex (Isak), but this is football. If you have an option for your life, for another team, you need to think about everything. But now I’m happy here. I don’t think anything about another team.’
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe insisted before the Magpies’ 3-1 defeat by Manchester City on Wednesday that Tonali was committed to the club and was not ‘unsettled’.
After the match at the Etihad, Tonali was spotted deep in conversation with City boss Pep Guardiola.
‘What did I say [to Sandro Tonali]?’ Guardiola said post-match.
‘My Italian is perfect, so that’s why I can communicate with him. And we have an incredible friend in common from Brescia, Edoardo Piovani.
‘And every time we are connected, I know his father some time ago and all the time we met we talked about his experience in Milan, the supporters, and how happy he is in Newcastle.
‘He’s a really, really top player, top, top, top player!’
