Sandro Tonali is unhappy at Newcastle United and is looking for a January exit with Juventus having made contact about taking him back to Italy, according to Sky Sports journalist Sacha Tavolieri.
The Magpies splashed £55m on the Italy international to bring him to the north-east from AC Milan in July 2023, but were left without his services for much of his debut campaign after he was found guilty of betting offences - leaving him suspended from all football for ten months.
He returned to action this season but has struggled to claim a starting spot in Eddie Howe's midfield this season, featuring in just 51% of the minutes he has been available for in the Premier League.
Now according to Tavolieri, Juventus are ready to test their resolve to keep hold of their midfield star and have made contact about taking him back to Serie A as they know he is unhappy in England.
Tonali Unhappy at Newcastle
Juventus interested but Newcastle don't want to sell
Sandro Tonali applauding the Newcastle United supporters
With Tonali keen on a move back to his homeland, Juventus recently made contact with his entourage after manager Thiago Motta identified the 24-year-old as a key target to bolster his midfield options.
However, Newcastle are not interested in selling Tonali despite their PSR issues and would most certainly not consider any loan-to-buy offers that may come their way in January. Howe's side are also anticipating interest from Manchester City in captain Bruno Guimaraes, and so Tonali is not expected to go anywhere unless a mega offer is received.
With that said though, Tavolieri writes that "it smells like the end between the Italian playmaker and the Magpies".
Sandro Tonali Newcastle statistics 2024/25 (all comps)
Played
Minutes
Goals
Assists
Yellow cards
Tonali's agent has previously responded to reports about his client being unhappy in England and denied the validity of the comments, however there usually isn't smoke without fire and it's possible that the former Milan star, who earns £120,000-per-week, would be open to a move if the opportunity presented itself for him to play more regular football.
So far this season Howe has preferred to use Guimaraes, Joelinton, Joe Willock and Sean Longstaff on occasion. Newcastle's next fixture comes against Brentford in the EFL Cup quarter-final, before a Premier League game against Ipswich follows at the weekend.
All statistics courtesy of WhoScored - correct as of 18/12/2024.
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