More comments have emerged from Sandro Tonali’s agent about his Newcastle United exit.
Sandro Tonali’s agent has confirmed that Roberto De Zerbi was a big factor in his Newcastle United exit.
Toon fans grew sick of the speculation surrounding the Italian last season. A lot of the talk was fuelled directly by Beppe Riso - his key representative - who named Arsenal and Manchester City as potential destinations.
Ultimately, Tonali joined Tottenham Hotspur for a mammoth £100million - and faced the Newcastle boo boys in August. Spurs currently sit rock bottom of the Premier League and without a top-flight win from their opening five games.
‘They're courageous’ - Beppe Riso
As quoted in Tuttomercato, Tonali’s agent, Riso, noted Tottenham’s “courage” to adopt an aggressive transfer strategy and De Zerbi as the key reasons for the move. He said: "It was a crazy move in terms of the noise, the numbers, and the responsibilities. I explained things to Sandro, I made him think, and I took responsibility.
“It turned out to be the right choice, even from a personal perspective, even though cycles end and we decided to leave. After Newcastle, Tottenham showed they’re choosing differently. They’re courageous. Tottenham was reborn after the end of the season.
“Tottenham survived, and De Zerbi came to the house, telling him they needed him as a leader. The relationship with De Zerbi carried a lot of weight."
Sandro Tonali on Roberto De Zerbi connection
Tonali name-checked De Zerbi as a driving influence during his first interview at Tottenham. The former Newcastle man came through Brescia’s academy - De Zerbi’s hometown club.
“Roberto is an unbelievable gaffer,” Tonali said. “I know him for a long time. He's from Brescia. I played 10 years in Brescia. Sometimes, we meet in Brescia when we have a day off or two days off, we come back, both in our city and I think this is fantastic.
“I spoke with him for the first time. We spoke like a friend, and we spoke like a player and gaffer already. This chat was close to magic, because it was like, ‘okay now I have to sign for you, for sure’.
“We spoke a lot really about the Tottenham, about the stadium, about the fans about the players, about our football. We can't wait to start the season.”