**Newcastle legend Alan Shearer agrees with Paul Scholes that Sandro Tonali is up there with the best midfielders in the Premier League.**
The debate had originally centred around Arsenal’s Declan Rice and Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo before Scholes [**gave his opinion**](https://newcastleunitednews.org/blog/newcastle-united-news-sandro-tonali-scholes/) on the matter. Asked whether Tonali deserves to receive such praise, Shearer replied:
“Yeah, I wouldn’t argue with that, I think. With the problems that he had when he first arrived, obviously well documented, and for him to have to sit and train basically on his own for months, he’s turned into a beast of a midfielder.”
“He’s horrible to play against. And even his performances for Italy, if you’ve been watching them, when he goes away on international duty. Newcastle have got a top midfielder on their hands there. There’s no doubt about it. He’s brilliant.”
Tonali is not looking to leave Newcastle
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The 25-year-old is currently on international duty with Italy, and asked whether he is open to returning to his home country, Tonali said it was “possible” that it could happen in the future but he’s not seeking a move away from St James’ Park at the moment.
After arriving from AC Milan for €70m in the summer of 2023, the Italian has made a total of 66 appearances for the Magpies, including 9 this season.
The midfielder has gone from strength to strength
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As Shearer points out, Tonali had a really difficult start to life in England, with his betting ban casting a long shadow over his footballing career.
However, he has put that all behind him over the last twelve months, to the extent that he is now being praised by the likes of Scholes and Shearer as being among the best in the Premier League. That is some turnaround.
[**Read more about the Newcastle United First Team Squad for 2025/26 here**](https://newcastleunitednews.org/blog/newcastle-united-first-team-squad/)