Newcastle United star Sandro Tonali is a dream transfer target for several clubs around European football this summer transfer window, but [Manchester United](https://manunews.com/) and Arsenal are the two clear favorites for his services.
Although Arsenal may be gunning after the Italian international more since Mikel Arteta loves his center midfielders having been one himself, Man United do need the former AC Milan star even more than their Premier League Big Six rivals.
That need was patently obvious during Man United’s tough to swallow 2-1 loss to a 10 man Newcastle at St. James’s Park. Tonali himself was splendid, leading the Magpies with three key passes from deep while defending incredibly intelligently and shielding the ball well.
It was a perfect deep lying midfielder’s performance for a 10 man team against a big side. Tonali was creative and incisive with his passing, and he was so good at screening the defense off the ball.
Meanwhile, the Manchester United midfield was shambolic. Outside of Bruno Fernandes, there was literally no creativity to speak of, and Kobbie Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte continued to struggle.
Despite having possession, Man United never felt in control of the game in or out of possession, and you could visibly see just how much better the Newcastle midfielders were than Man United’s players.
The Red Devils 100 percent have to get their hands on a player of Tonali’s caliber, and after seeing him up close and personal in this 2-1 defeat, Man United have to be sold on him.
A transfer for Tonali only got more likely for the Red Devils after this brutal head to head defeat on the road, and Manchester United need Jim Ratcliffe to open up the check book and pay whatever it takes for this top midfielder in his prime.
Joe Soriano is the editor of _The Trivela Effect_ and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like _The Real Champs_ (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage _NFL Spin Zone_ and _Daily DDT,_ covering the NFL and pro wrestling.