Sandro Tonali of Newcastle United looks on during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD7 match between Newcastle United FC and PSV Eindhoven at St James' Park on January 21, 2026 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)placeholder image
Sandro Tonali of Newcastle United looks on during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD7 match between Newcastle United FC and PSV Eindhoven at St James' Park on January 21, 2026 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Sandro Tonali’s future at Newcastle United remains uncertain following his agent’s comments on deadline day.
Newcastle United CEO David Hopkinson has admitted he has “no idea” whether Sandro Tonali’s agent stirred up trouble on deadline day.
Social media went into meltdown early on Monday as a report from Sky Sports Germany linked the Italian with Arsenal. It was later claimed that Tonali’s agent, Beppe Risso, reached out to the Gunners about a possible switch.
NewcastleWorld understands the Magpies had zero intention of cashing in midway through the campaign. Toon chiefs are robust in wanting to keep their top players - a policy that was damaged last summer by Alexander Isak’s sale.
‘I have no idea’ - David Hopkinson
Speaking to talkSPORT, Newcastle CEO Hopkinson "I have no idea. That's our answer," he replied. "Eddie (Howe) got it right, he doesn't know, I don't know. Here's what I do know: he's a superstar player, he's under contract here.
"He’s not the only player we had that other clubs would covet, so I think if we get a situation where people aren't trying to muck about and sew some chaos into the marketplace in order to dislodge our players then we've got a real problem.
"Sandro has been a wonderful player, a smile's on every day I see him, I believe he's happy here and we're certainly happy with him.”
What Sandro Tonali’s agent said
Amid the deadline-day confusion, Tonali’s representative broke ranks to dismiss the Arsenal claims. However, he also suggested they will assess whether Newcastle are open to a summer switch next month.
“I read it, but Newcastle won’t let Sandro leave in January and we never talked to Arsenal about this,” Risso said. “We will evaluate in March whether Newcastle are open to anything, but right now he is playing in the Champions League, it is not the right moment to talk about it.”
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Eddie Howe on Sandro Tonali speculation
When asked about the Tonali speculation before the Manchester City game, Howe told reporters: "As far as I'm aware, we've got a player that's an outstanding footballer, an outstanding person.
“He's very happy here, he's got a great relationship with me, his team-mates, he seems really, really happy within himself, so that would surprise me. But our best players will always be attracting glances from other clubs, that's just the reality of football.
“We want to keep the group together, we want to keep being progressive and of course Sandro plays a part in that, trying to hit his best levels and play as well as he can to help the team. All-encompassed, I don't see an issue, but as I say, I'm not in control of everything.
“I find it difficult to talk about things that I don't know too much about. I can only talk about Sandro as the person and the player and his mindset here and now, having discussed things with him yesterday, and he's absolutely fine."
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