As the 2026 World Cup rages on, Premier League teams are doing everything in their power to gain a leg up over one another in the summer transfer window.
Sandro Tonali is amongst the most highly-coveted players in the world at the moment. The Newcastle United man has been linked with a host of top clubs, but Tottenham Hotspur have recently thrown their hat into the ring.
According to a report from Fabrizio Romano on his official YouTube channel, Tonali is ‘keen’ to make the jump to North London, despite competition from teams such as Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City.
Even without the prospect of European football next season, this doesn’t put Tonali off. Like Tottenham, Newcastle also won’t be playing in Europe next season.
However, there are more teams in the mix to acquire Tonali’s signature. An Italian international, he could make the jump back to his native country – an article by TEAMtalk suggests that AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus are also interested in snapping him up.
Furthermore, back in April, Real Madrid sent scouts to monitor the player’s progress [via Estadio Deportivo]. He was reportedly ‘offered’ to the club by his agents, but they will likely pursue other targets as things stand.
Sandro Tonali Premier League 2025/26 Premier League stats
Games Goals Assists Yellow Cards Red Cards
Sandro Tonali 35 0 2 4 0
As you can see, the 2025/26 season wasn’t Tonali’s best. This can be said for Newcastle as a whole – not only did they finish 12th in the league table, they were also beaten twice by bitter rivals Sunderland upon the Black Cats’ long-awaited reintroduction into England’s top flight.
In 2024/25, Tonali was much more impressive. Following the end of his suspension for betting violations, he scored four goals and notched up two assists as the Toon finished fifth in the league table, qualifying for the Champions League as a result.
In the 2025/26 iteration of the Champions League, Tonali fared a little better, scoring one goal and notching up one assist in 11 outings. While their campaign came to crashing end when they were annihilated by Barcelona, they did pick up a famous 1-1 draw against eventual winners PSG along the way.
Who would benefit the most from signing Sandro Tonali?
In many ways, Tonali is an odd holding midfielder. He isn’t the sort of player who breaks up play and wins crunching tackles – instead, he is more of a playmaker, spraying ball around the pitch and carrying it forward.
To this end, if Manchester United are looking to sign a replacement for Casemiro, we would advise against bringing in Tonali. They are two completely different players – the Italian lacks Casemiro’s hustle and bustle. He can, however, match (or even exceed) him in terms of technical ability.
While he generally plays as a defensive midfielder, we think he would be more suited to playing in central midfield. To this end, he could function effectively in Tottenham or City’s midfield, as both Enzo Maresca and Roberto De Zerbi tend to favour technically-sound players rather than those who can put in a strong tackle.