**After Wednesday's game against Athletic Bilbao, Sandro Tonali made a bold statement on his future at Newcastle United, which got tongues wagging once again.**
Sandro Tonali's future at Newcastle has been a topic of debate since before he even kicked a ball for the club. Italian media were so heartbroken to see him leave that they were adamant that he was taken away from Milan against his will and wanted to return.
That rhetoric only disappeared when the Italian was serving his 10-month ban shortly after joining Newcastle, but once he returned to action, so too did the rumours of a return to Italy.
After it came out recently that Tonali had signed a contract extension during said ban to make up for the year of football he was missing, Tonali was asked about his long-term future at the club on Wednesday night, and the 25-year-old gave an honest answer, [saying anything can happen in football](https://nufcfeed.com/sandro-tonali-refuses-to-commit-long-term-future-to-newcastle-united-but-its-not-as-devastating-as-it-sounds-1671152) and he won't say he's going to be here 10 years from now, but he's happy at this moment.
> [](https://twitter.com/NUFC/status/1986192514034860474)
Eddie Howe praised Sandro Tonali's honesty
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Naturally, Eddie Howe was asked for his comments on Tonali's words during his press conference on Friday morning, with the Newcastle boss praising Tonali's honesty.
> "I'm always comfortable with honest. None of us can make massive statements about future because football is so unpredictable. Sandro has been very honest but he is happy and enjoying his football. He loves it here in Newcastle and is happy in the team he is in and happy in the environment and it is our job to maintain that so he can carry on his positive start to the season."
We have no issue at all with what Tonali said, either, because we listened to the whole quote and took it all in context. Our issue is how those with an agenda will take the quote and spin it to fit their "Tonali wants to go back to Italy" narrative.
The club and Tonali will have to find a compromise on the length of a contract extension
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As we said on Thursday when covering his quotes, the issue we have with Tonali's idea of only committing to year on year, that it doesn't allow Newcastle to protect their asset. The midfield maestro will have to sign a longer-term contract so that if he does decide it's time to move on, we can get what he's worth by selling him rather than losing him for free.
Tonali is far too good to be playing those kinds of risky games. If we're going to lose him to another club, we damn sure want to be compensated for it.
Not that we expect this to be something we're going to have to deal with in the summer, or next summer. Unless we fail to qualify for Europe in the next two seasons, then he might want to leave.