Sandro Tonali has become the centre of attention at Newcastle United in recent days.
In his latest revelation, Beppe Riso claimed Tonali wants to “lead the club to the Champions League” before discussing a possible exit. That is exactly what Alexander Isak did before downing tools and pushing through a summer switch to Liverpool.
Newcastle have maintained since the Saudi-backed takeover that they wish to keep their best players. However, there can be no dispute that the Isak saga left a damaging effect on the project.
Sandro Tonali agent goes rogue
Tonali’s agent has now left the door open for a potential exit - with talks planned later this year. On deadline day amid rumoured Arsenal interest, he suggested negotiations would take place as early as next month.
"Newcastle are having a hard time letting go of Sandro and he wants to lead the club to the Champions League,” he told TuttoSport. “These transfer discussions will take place later. We’ll see how the season ends and then we’ll decide what to do.
“There’s no preference at the moment. It’s still early. What we’re saying today won’t apply tomorrow. Newcastle couldn’t let him go now, and there’s no point in moving, especially since Sandro is very attached to the club. We’ll evaluate and decide what to do in the summer.”
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What Sandro Tonali said in November
The midfielder gave a far from convincing answer on his Newcastle future when speaking to reporters in November. Tonali said: “This is a tough question because in football you need to think year on year. I don’t want to say ‘I want to stay here 10 years’ and in two years, three years, four years, five years I will go. I want to think, just for me, year on year.
“This is football. Last summer was tough for us, for Alex [Isak], but this is football.
“If you have an option for your life, for another team you need to think about everything. I don’t want to say, ‘Yes, I want to stay here for 10 years but now I’m happy here. I don’t think anything about another team.”
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