When Tonali originally joined Newcastle in the summer of 2023, it was announced that he had signed a five-year deal running to 2028. However, as part of the discussions around the financial implications of the Italian’s ten-month ban for breaching betting rules, it was decided to extend the deal to 2029, with an option for a further year to 2030.
That extension strengthens Newcastle’s position if clubs come calling for Tonali, who has impressed for both club and country this season, but as the Alexander Isak saga in the summer proved, high-performing players tend to expect regular contract revisions to reflect their seniority and performance levels.
In order to keep Tonali beyond the end of the current campaign, Newcastle might well have to offer the 25-year-old an improved deal, something Wilson will be addressing as a key priority following his appointment as sporting director earlier this month.
“Yeah, that will be one for Ross Wilson,” confirmed Howe, who was speaking ahead of Newcastle’s home game with Fulham tomorrow afternoon. “All new contracts and players’ contract lengths will be looked at by him. Obviously, I will have a discussion on all of those things, but we haven’t talked at length about that.”
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Tonali’s previous contract extension was thrashed out while he was serving his suspension for breaches of betting rules, and Howe feels the midfielder’s conduct during the most difficult spell of his career laid the foundations for the impact he has been able to produce since returning to action.
“A lot happened around the time when he was banned,” said the Magpies boss. “There were a lot of discussions between Sandro’s representatives and the football club at the time.
“Obviously, there was the contract situation involving him and sacrificial wages, that Sandro volunteered, which I thought spoke volumes for his mentality and how he conducted himself, during that period.
“The club came to an agreement over an extension of his contract, which is a good thing. But I think the most important thing was how he conducted himself in that ban. I thought he was brilliant, and that’s of course led to his brilliant performances since he’s come back. So, congratulations to him.”
Tonali has starred with Newcastle on both the domestic and European stages since returning to action, and has developed into one of the key figures in the Italian national team that is battling to try to qualify for next summer’s World Cup.
Howe didn’t want to leave himself as a hostage to fortune when asked whether Tonali was now of the world’s best midfielders, but he clearly feels the former AC Milan star has everything needed to live up to that billing.
“It’s very difficult to label players,” he said. “I don’t to like doing that, I think it’s a dangerous thing to do. I always think the players have to prove that consistently, I don’t think it helps for me to do that.
“I think the attributes are there in his game to be that. I think the attitude is there, and fundamentally that’s so important. The consistency and daily habits a player has, you see that come out on the pitch.
“Sandro has all those qualities. He has the technical delivery, athleticism. So yeah, I think he has a bit of everything. Of course, the challenge is to improve and consistently show you’re that. I’d back him to do it.”
Tonali was an unused substitute as Newcastle beat Benfica on Tuesday, and the Italian is still struggling with the illness issue that limited his involvement in midweek. He will be assessed in the run-up to tomorrow’s game before Howe makes a final call over his line-up.
Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall continue to make progress in their respective recovery programmes, with the latter potentially on track to return to the first-team fold before the next international break.
“Tino is on the grass for the first time today and he’s making really good progress, so we’re really happy with him,” said Howe. “Lewis is the same, he’s doing really well. He’s been on the grass for a while and is pushing himself. He’s done back-to-back sessions now. He’ll be hopefully not too far away now.”