TL:DR – Arsenal in negotiations to acquire Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali on deadline day
- Arsenal are in talks to sign Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali on deadline day.
- Mikel Merino is injured and will undergo surgery, prompting Arsenal’s search for a midfielder.
- Direct talks for Tonali have taken place but finalising the deal is “very very difficult” due to Newcastle’s reluctance to let him go.
- Tonali’s contract runs until June 2028, and he has been an integral part of Newcastle despite recent form issues.
Arsenal in talks to sign Newcastle star Sandro Tonali in stunning deadline-day transfer | Football
Premier League” decoding=”sync”/>Arsenal are in discussions to land Newcastle star Sandro Tonali (Picture: Getty)
Arsenal are reportedly in talks to sign Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali in an audacious deadline-day move.
The Premier League leaders have been forced to scour the January transfer market after learning that Mikel Merino is set to be sidelined for a ‘considerable period’ due to a foot injury.
Merino played no part in Arsenal’s 4-0 thumping of Leeds on Saturday afternoon and it was subsequently confirmed that the Spaniard will be forced to undergo surgery.
Speaking live on Sky Sports News this morning, Sky Deutschland’s Florian Plettenberg revealed ‘top sources’ had informed him that the Gunners were exploring a possible deal for Tonali.
He claimed the 25-year-old Italy international had been the subject of ‘direct talks’ in the last couple of hours.
But for now, the proposed signing is deemed ‘very very difficult’ to finalise given Newcastle have not given the green light, reluctant to part with such a key player midway through their campaign.
The north London giants have not given up hope, though, and are still pushing to prise the midfielder away from St James’ Park before today’s transfer deadline at 19:00 GMT.
Get your football fix
Don’t want to miss the week’s biggest football stories? UK News’s exclusive Football Newsletter, In The Mixer, is your essential guide.
From the latest transfer rumours and managerial moves to analysis of the biggest games and a lot more, our experts have you covered.
Arsenal have held ‘direct talks’ for the Italy midfielder (Picture: Getty)
Tonali is enjoying his third season with Newcastle having completed a £55million move from AC Milan back in 2023.
In that time, Tonali has made 91 appearances in all competitions for the Magpies and was on the winning side last season as Eddie Howe’s men went all the way in the Carabao Cup.
However, the ex-Milan and Brescia midfielder was slapped with a ten-month ban for breaching Italian betting regulations in October 2023, meaning he played just eight league games in his debut season at Newcastle.
Tonali’s current contract in the north east runs through to June 2028, with the option of a further 12 months.
Tonali lifted the Carabao Cup with the Magpies last term (Picture: Getty)
He played the full 90 minutes of Newcastle’s 4-1 loss to Liverpool at the weekend (Picture: Getty)
The Italian’s form has been up and down in recent weeks and Newcastle boss Howe came to his defence after an especially underwhelming performance against Leeds.
It came as Tonali’s wife, Juliette Pastore, was due to give birth to their baby boy, who was born just hours later.
‘The players are, of course, human beings,’ Howe told reporters after Tonali was hauled off at half-time in Newcastle’s 4-3 win.
‘They have loads going on in their private lives continually, as we all do, and the balance between work and private life and making sure your work is not affected by your private life is an ongoing battle for everybody.
Tonali is in his third season at St James’ Park (Picture: Getty)
‘The lads are really professional, they know the importance of what they deliver on a weekend or whenever they’re playing, for themselves, for their families, for their careers.
‘But occasionally I have to understand what’s going on in their lives and when maybe things are going on off the pitch that affect them and I can support them and help them, and as a football club we can support and help them in every moment of their lives.
‘It’s not just babies and other things, there’s so much going on in daily life that can have an effect positively and negatively.’
The Newcastle star is tied into a contract until June 2029 (Picture: Getty)
Earlier this season, Manchester United legend Paul Scholes caught many fans by surprise as he picked out Tonali as the best midfield player in the Premier League.
Asked who he classed as the finest midfielder in the English top flight, Scholes said on Sky Bet’s The Overlap: ‘Right now? That’s tough.
‘I still don’t class Moises Caicedo as an all-round midfield player. I know he scored a great goal and was brilliant the other day.
‘I got some stick last year after having a go at him and I almost thought about taking that back because he was brilliant in the Club World Cup.
Manchester United icon Scholes is a big fan of Tonali (Picture: Getty)
‘I just prefer the controlling type of midfield players who play with a bit more style and can score goals a bit more often than Caicedo.
‘It was a brilliant goal against Liverpool but you wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t do that again for another 18 months would you?
‘He’s one of the best at what he does which is breaking up the play, he’s brilliant at that. But I prefer the other types.
Tonali has been capped 30 times by the Italian national team (Picture: Getty)
‘Alexis Mac Allister was absolutely brilliant last season, he controlled a lot of games and I think Liverpool are missing that at the moment.
‘I love Sandro Tonali as well. He’s been brilliant. Very good. I would probably choose Tonali at this point.’
Pressed if he was genuinely naming Tonali as the best midfielder in the league, Scholes replied: ‘Yes, you’re going to say Declan Rice but I think he’s better than Rice.
‘I really like Rice, don’t get me wrong, I think he’s got everything. Sometimes he takes a few too many touches of the ball and tries to look a bit more stylish than necessary.
‘He can do everything but I just don’t think he does it enough. I prefer Tonali but they’re both good players.’
Comment now
Comments
Add UK News as a Preferred Source on Google
Add as preferred source
Football Newsletter – In The Mixer
Punchy analysis, transfer talk and more from UK News’s football experts, sent straight to your inbox every week.