Sandro Tonali continues to consistently churn out excellent performances for Newcastle United
Sean McCormick is a football writer covering Newcastle United for ChronicleLive. After starting his career covering North East sport, he has had a spell working as an editor on the Manchester Evening News. He also writes about darts and boxing. He joined us in 2016.
Sandro Tonali of Newcastle United
Sandro Tonali of Newcastle United(Image: James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)
Nick Woltemade deservedly stole all the headlines on his Newcastle United debut.
After all, the £69million club record signing managed to block out all the noise to score the winning goal in the Magpies' 1-0 win over Wolves at St James' Park.
But, not for the first time, Sandro Tonali was the best Newcastle player on the pitch as he dictated the game from midfield and set the tone for their relentless press.
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When things were getting shaky towards the end of the win over Wolves, it was Tonali who routinely relieved the pressure with a crucial interception or by carrying the ball away from danger.
"I think he covered every blade today," Howe told reporters after the win over Wolves.
"He was putting out a lot of fires on transition for us today and he has done that superbly well for some time. It is not necessarily a quality that registers immediately but the number of times he reads the game and he gets there first, you realise it is a massive skill of his.
"His athleticism, his speed, he is one of the reasons why defensively we have looked strong. And then the other side of his game with his use of the ball, and his creativity, I think it was a great performance."
Tonali is so spectacular week-in, week-out, it rarely gets spoken about. It is just merely what we have come to expect from the Italian international.
There is an argument he is up there with the best midfielders in the league, not that many outside of Tyneside have cottoned on to that notion.
And that is just how Newcastle will like it. Alexander Isak dominated the summer transfer window headlines before his move to Liverpool but United didn't lose their best player when he left. Tonali is still at the club.
Perhaps his 10-month ban for gambling offences at the start of his Newcastle career has taken away the glare that might have perhaps surrounded him during his first season on Tyneside.
Perhaps that is why Tonali's exceptional ability still feels like the club's best kept secret. None of the vultures have circled for the 25-year-old in the same way they did for Isak and have done in the past for Bruno Guimaraes and Anthony Gordon.
Newcastle will hope it remains that way for some time.
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