Tottenham targets Sandro Tonali, but Newcastle holds the key to the negotiations
Tottenham Hotspur has entered one of the most ambitious deals of the summer transfer window: bringing in Sandro Tonali from Newcastle United. According to a Sky Sports report from June 16, 2026, the Italian international is one of the main targets of Roberto De Zerbi, the new Spurs coach, who sees the midfielder as a player capable of raising the technical level of the team and giving it a clearer rhythm in possession. The same source states that Newcastle does not want to lose Tonali and would consider selling him only for an exceptionally high fee. At this moment, there is no official confirmation that an agreement has been reached between the clubs, nor has it been announced that Newcastle has accepted any offer. The deal is therefore still at an early but very sensitive stage, in which the decisive factors will be the financial terms, Tonali's position and Newcastle's willingness to give up one of its most important players.
De Zerbi is looking for a midfielder who can lead the game
Tottenham's interest fits into a broader attempt to reshape the team after the arrival of Roberto De Zerbi. Tottenham officially announced his appointment as first-team coach on March 31, 2026, and in the club announcement De Zerbi emphasized the ambition to build a team that can achieve major results and play recognizable, attractive football. The central midfield is precisely one of the areas in which such a project is most clearly visible, because De Zerbi's teams depend on players who can receive the ball under pressure, change the direction of attack and make decisions in tight spaces. Sky Sports states that Tottenham wants to improve the technical quality of the squad this summer and bring in a midfielder who can dictate the tempo of the game. Tonali, a player who combines work rate, duel play and the ability to make progressive passes, logically fits that profile within the Italian specialist's coaching idea.
For Tottenham, Tonali would be more than a standard reinforcement in the rotation. Such a transfer would mean an attempt to immediately change the hierarchy in the middle of the pitch and to build a more stable system around a new key player. During his career, including at Sassuolo, Brighton & Hove Albion and Marseille, De Zerbi has gained a reputation as a coach who insists on organized build-up play and bold solutions in the phase of constructing attacks. Tottenham's official announcement at the time of his appointment recalled that with Brighton he achieved the club's best Premier League finish and secured the first European appearance in the club's history. For that reason, the choice of Tonali is not only a matter of market opportunity, but also an attempt to bring into the dressing room a footballer whose characteristics match the planned identity of the team.
Newcastle has a strong negotiating position
The biggest obstacle for Tottenham is not only competition from other clubs, but Newcastle's position in the negotiations. Sky Sports reported that Tonali's contract runs until the summer of 2029 and contains no release clause, which gives Newcastle room to determine for itself the threshold below which it will not discuss a sale. In practice, this means that Tottenham cannot activate a pre-agreed amount, but must convince the club from St. James' Park that a sale is acceptable from both a sporting and financial point of view. The Times reported on June 17, 2026, that Tonali is valued at up to 100 million pounds, while other British sources on the same day mentioned figures of approximately 90 million pounds. Regardless of the difference in estimates, the common message is clear: Newcastle will not negotiate like a club that must sell quickly.
Newcastle's firm position is understandable also because of the way Tonali has become an important part of the team in recent years. The club brought him from Milan in July 2023, and it was officially announced at the time that he had signed a contract until 2028. In its announcement about the transfer, the Premier League stated that the Italian arrived at Newcastle after three seasons at Milan, with whom he won Serie A in the 2021/22 season and played in the Champions League semi-final in 2022/23. According to a later Sky Sports report, Newcastle extended Tonali's contract until 2029, with an option for an additional year, thereby further protecting his negotiating value. It is precisely that contractual framework that makes the difference between a transfer wish and a feasible deal.
The financial calculation is greater than the fee itself
For Tottenham, a transfer in the range of 90 to 100 million pounds would be one of the biggest deals in the club's history and would have to fit into a broader financial picture. In such transfers, it is not only the amount that would be paid to Newcastle that is considered, but also the length of the contract, the player's wages, agents, bonuses and accounting amortization. In November 2025, the Premier League announced that from the 2026/27 season it would introduce a new financial system replacing the existing profitability and sustainability rules. According to the league's explanation, the Squad Cost Ratio limits squad costs to 85 percent of football revenue and net profit or loss from player sales, and those costs include the wages of players and the head coach, agents' fees and amortization or impairment of transfers. For that reason, any possible arrival of Tonali would have to be planned not only as a sporting investment, but also as a long-term item in the club's books.
Such a framework is especially important for a club that simultaneously wants to rebuild several lines of the team. Sky Sports states that Tottenham, in addition to searching for a midfielder, is also working on other parts of the squad, including the defence, wide positions and attack. If Tonali became the most expensive or one of the most expensive incoming transfers in the club's history, the question would arise of how much room would remain for additional arrivals. The management would have to assess whether one elite midfielder brings a greater effect than several more moderate reinforcements in multiple positions. On the other hand, a successful transfer of a player with Tonali's profile could send a strong message that Tottenham wants to quickly raise the level of the team and give De Zerbi authority at the beginning of the project.
Tonali's career carries sporting weight and a complex context
Sandro Tonali was born on May 8, 2000, in Lodi, and he established himself in football through Brescia and Milan before moving to the Premier League. In the official announcement from 2023, Newcastle emphasized that he was one of the most highly regarded young Italian players and that by the time he arrived in England he had accumulated significant experience in Serie A and the Champions League. His profile is often described through the balance between defensive discipline and the ability to launch an attack with the first or second pass. For a coach such as De Zerbi, calmness in the phase of playing the ball out is especially important, because it is precisely in those moments that space opens up for controlling possession and attacking the opponent's structure. With his arrival, Tottenham would get a player who can play in a deeper role, but also take part in pressing and the transition after losing the ball.
Tonali, however, has not had a completely linear path in England. The disciplinary commission of the Football Association stated in a 2024 decision that Tonali admitted 50 breaches of betting rules between August 12 and October 12, 2023, including four bets connected to competitions in which his club or he as a player participated. In the same document, the FA stated that Tonali was already serving a ten-month global suspension imposed by the Italian federation. The commission suspended an additional two-month sporting sanction until the end of the 2024/25 season, on condition that there be no new breach of the rules, and also imposed a financial penalty. That part of his career remains important context, but according to available reports Newcastle continued to count on him after his return and tied him down further contractually.
What Tonali would change at Tottenham
If the transfer were completed, Tottenham would get a midfielder who can take responsibility in the phase when the team is trying to control the match. Tonali is not only a destroyer nor only an organizer, but a player who can connect pressing, recovered balls and distribution forward. In De Zerbi's system, such a profile can be crucial because central midfielders often have to offer solutions under pressure, draw in the opponent and open space for the third player. In the Premier League, where the rhythm of matches changes quickly and transitions are frequent, such a combination of physical readiness and technical security is especially valuable. Therefore it is not surprising that, according to British reports, other big clubs are also interested in Tonali.
For De Zerbi, the arrival of a compatriot would also have a symbolic dimension. The coach who has only just taken over Tottenham is trying to impose a style of play, and such a process is usually faster when there are players in the dressing room who understand the demands of the system and can implement them on the pitch. Tonali has not worked with De Zerbi in club football, but he shares the Italian football school and the habit of playing in systems in which positional discipline is important. That does not guarantee success, but it reduces part of the adaptation risk that always accompanies major transfers. In a sporting sense, Tottenham would be trying with him to gain a balance between control and intensity, which has often been one of the team's key shortcomings in recent seasons.
Why Newcastle would find it difficult to agree to a quick sale
Newcastle does not have a simple sporting reason to sell a player of such importance. Tonali was brought in as a long-term reinforcement, his contract has been extended, and according to available information the club is not actively offering him to the market at a reduced price. If a sale did nevertheless happen, Newcastle would have to find a replacement who can immediately take on a significant role in the middle of the pitch, which is increasingly expensive and uncertain in the summer transfer window. An additional problem is that clubs often demand a premium when they know that the buyer has money from a major outgoing transfer or a clear need for urgent reinforcement. That is why even a possible large sum received for Tonali would open a new question: can Newcastle quickly and effectively turn that money into an equal or greater sporting effect?
On the other hand, a high fee always has its financial logic. If an offer reached the level that Newcastle considers exceptional, the management would have to weigh the benefit of keeping the player against the possibility of reinvesting the funds in several positions. But unlike a player with a short contract or a clear release clause, Tonali is not in a position in which the club has to hurry. That is precisely why Tottenham, if it wants to seriously open the deal, must prepare an offer that will not only be attractive to the player, but also convincing enough to Newcastle. Without that, the interest will remain at the level of ambitious intent, rather than a real transfer.
The negotiations still have to show the real seriousness of the deal
At the current stage, it is most accurate to say that Tottenham is showing serious interest, while Newcastle retains control over the situation. Reports from Sky Sports and The Times confirm that Tonali's name is high on Spurs' wish list, but at the same time indicate that any movement will require a very large financial decision. For Tottenham, this is a test of the ambition of a new era under De Zerbi, but also a test of the ability to turn a market desire into a sustainable project. For Newcastle, it is a test of the firmness of its own sporting strategy and of the boundary at which a possible sale would become acceptable. Until there is an official offer, an agreement between the clubs or a clear position from Tonali, the most important fact remains that this is a major deal with many obstacles, but also a transfer which, if it happens, would significantly change the plans of both clubs for the new season.
Sources:
- Sky Sports – report on Tottenham's interest in Sandro Tonali, De Zerbi's priorities, Newcastle's stance, the contract without a release clause and the broader plan to rebuild the team (link)
- Tottenham Hotspur – official announcement of Roberto De Zerbi's appointment as first-team coach and description of his coaching path so far (link)
- Sky Sports – report on the extension of Tonali's contract with Newcastle until 2029 and the option of an additional year (link)
- Newcastle United – official announcement of Sandro Tonali's arrival from Milan in 2023 and the initial terms of his contract (link)
- Premier League – announcement about Tonali's transfer from Milan to Newcastle and basic information about his career before arriving in England (link)
- The Football Association – decision of the disciplinary commission in the Sandro Tonali case and explanation of the sanctions for breaches of betting rules (link)
- Premier League – explanation of the new financial system, Squad Cost Ratio rules and items included in squad costs from the 2026/27 season (link)
- The Times – report on Tottenham's negotiations, the valuation of Tonali at up to 100 million pounds and interest from other clubs (link)