Sandro Tonali has not travelled with Newcastle United to Chelsea for Saturday’s Premier League clash.
Tonali has been ruled out due to illness with the hope he will be well enough to travel to Barcelona for Wednesday night’s Champions League last-16 second leg.
Ahead of the match, Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe claimed there would be no returning players from injury and the side would be ‘pretty much’ the same as the one that drew 1-1 with Barcelona on Tuesday. But the one notable change sees Tonali drop out, with Nick Woltemade coming into the side in his place.
Newcastle United line-up v Chelsea
Howe has made six changes from the draw with Barcelona.
NUFC XI v Chelsea: Ramsdale; Livramento, Thiaw, Botman, Hall; Ramsey, Willock, Woltemade; J. Murphy, Barnes, Gordon
Subs: Pope, Ruddy, Trippier, Joelinton, Wissa, Osula, Elanga, Burn, A.Murphy
Sandro Tonali transfer speculation
Tonali’s omission comes hours after his agent, dropped fresh claims about the midfielder’s future at the club.
A transfer bombshell was dropped on deadline day of the winter transfer window when Tonali was linked with a move to Arsenal at the 11th hour.
The transfer never materialised and was never going to - the links only serving the purpose of fuelling the speculation surrounding the Italian’s future at Newcastle heading into the summer window.
Tonali’s agent, Giuseppe Riso, quickly responded to the story on Sky Italia.
“We never had any conversation with Arsenal,” Riso claimed. “Newcastle were never gonna let Tonali leave in January. There’s absolutely nothing into it. We didn’t even talk about it.”
Now heading into arguably Newcastle’s most important week of the season so far, Riso has spoken to the media about Tonali’s future once again.
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Sandro Tonali’s agent speaks out again
After playing down the Arsenal links during the winter transfer window, Riso is now claiming it is ‘very likely’ that the Gunners will make a move in the summer for Tonali.
Speaking toCalcio&Finanza, Riso said: “Newcastle are already a Champions League club, but now it’s said that Tonali is being targeted by top clubs, those aiming to win the Premier League, such as Arsenal or Manchester City.
“Exactly, that was the aim from the moment he went to England - to try and turn him into a star player. I think he’s the Italian player with one of the highest values in the world.”
When asked if he expects a move to Manchester City or Arsenal in the summer, Riso laughed: “I don’t know! But it’s very likely.
“Everyone is waiting for the World Cup; then a thousand scenarios will unfold, but it all kicks off after the World Cup.”
Italy are hoping to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 2014 as they face Northern Ireland in their play-off semi-final on March 26. The winners of that game then face the winners of Wales v Bosnia & Herzegovina for a place at the 2026 World Cup in North America.
Tonali missed out on the 2024 European Championships due to his 10-month betting ban, so will be hoping to represent his country for the first time in a major tournament this summer.
Sandro Tonali on his NUFC future
When asked about his future at Newcastle earlier in the season, Tonali wouldn’t rule anything out.
“This is a tough question because in football, you need to think year on year,” he said.
“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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