Fabrizio Romano has been discussing the future of Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali.
Fabrizio Romano has claimed Manchester United are ‘working hard’ on a deal for Newcastle United star Sandro Tonali - but has also suggested he is ‘convinced’ the midfielder will return to Italy.
The former AC Milan star has been routinely linked with a return to his home country almost from the moment he made a reported £55m move to Tyneside during the summer of 2023. After making an immediate impact with a debut goal in a win against Aston Villa, Tonali saw his maiden season at Newcastle brought to a premature end by a lengthy ban for breaching gambling regulations.
However, he returned in spectacular fashion during the following campaign as he played an integral role in Newcastle’s Carabao Cup win as Eddie Howe’s side ended the club’s painfully long wait for major domestic silverware. A second Champions League campaign inside three seasons was also secured and there was further good news when it was revealed Tonali had penned an extension to his contract during his suspension.
He said: “Sandro Tonali is extraordinary. The idea, unfortunately, of seeing him again in Serie A is really far away at the moment. The temptation to present to Newcastle to understand how to bring Sandro Tonali back to Italy, here this desire will hardly become a reality. Manchester United are working hard on Tonali. We will hardly see him now in Italy. I remain convinced that one day Tonali will return. It probably won’t be this summer; it will be in the future, but Tonali’s desire for Italy remains.”
What has Eddie Howe said about Sandro Tonali’s future at Newcastle United?
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Speaking last month after the Italy star was linked with Arsenal, the Magpies boss said: "His only focus was on Manchester City and trying to win that game so there's absolutely no issue with Sandro himself. He's very happy and committed so I find it difficult to talk about things I don't know too much about. I can only talk about Sandro as the person and player, and his mindset here and now. Having discussed things with him yesterday, he's absolutely fine.
"Our best players are always going to attract glances from other clubs. That's just the reality of football. We want to keep the group together. We want to keep progressing and, of course, Sandro plays a part in that in 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 I'm not in control of everything."
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