Tottenham's Ambitious Pursuit of Sandro Tonali
Tottenham are preparing an audacious move for Sandro Tonali, with Roberto De Zerbi determined to make the Newcastle midfielder the heartbeat of his new-look side this summer.
This is not a tentative enquiry. Tonali is at the top of De Zerbi’s list, the player he believes can drag Spurs’ midfield into a different technical bracket and give structure to a team that only just scrambled clear of relegation last season.
De Zerbi’s statement signing
From the moment De Zerbi walked through the door, the brief has been clear: raise the technical ceiling, control games, stop living on the edge. To do that, he wants a conductor in the middle of the pitch, someone who can dictate tempo, take the ball under pressure and bend matches to his rhythm.
Tonali fits that profile perfectly. The Italy international has long been viewed as one of the Premier League’s elite midfielders, a player courted and tracked by Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United. His range of passing, aggression off the ball and authority in possession make him the kind of cornerstone De Zerbi can build around.
Inside Tottenham, there is an acceptance that if they want De Zerbi’s football, they have to buy De Zerbi’s type of players. A move for Tonali would be the clearest sign yet that the club intend to back their head coach not just in words, but with a marquee outlay in a market where top midfielders are changing hands at eye-watering prices.
Newcastle’s hard line
Landing him will not be easy. Newcastle do not want to lose Tonali. He signed a new contract in 2024, during his 10‑month gambling ban, tying him to the club until 2029. Crucially, that deal contains no release clause, leaving Newcastle in a powerful position at the negotiating table.
Any sale would take a huge fee. Newcastle know his value, and in a summer when midfielders are being priced at a premium, they can point to the wider market for justification.
There is, though, a sliver of opportunity. Sky Sports News reported in April that Tonali, along with Anthony Gordon and Tino Livramento, might be open to a new challenge at the end of the season. Gordon has already walked through that door, joining Barcelona for £69m. Tonali could be the next big name to test Newcastle’s resolve if the right offer lands.
Market pressure and shifting targets
Tottenham are not alone in having admired Tonali. He has featured prominently on recruitment lists at Arsenal, City and United. Yet the landscape has shifted.
City and United have turned their attention elsewhere. City are deep in talks with Nottingham Forest over Elliot Anderson in a deal expected to climb beyond £100m, a move that underlines just how inflated the midfield market has become and will inevitably ripple through other negotiations. United, meanwhile, have agreed a deal with Atalanta for Ederson and are now chasing West Ham’s Mateus Fernandes.
That change in priorities leaves Spurs with a clearer run at Tonali, but not a cheaper one. The going rate has been set. To prise him from a long contract at a club that does not want to sell, Tottenham will have to pay at the very top end of their scale.
Rebuilding Spurs in De Zerbi’s image
Tonali is only one part of a wider rebuild that has already begun. Tottenham moved quickly at the start of the window, bringing in centre-back Marcos Senesi and left-back Andy Robertson on free transfers. Both signings speak to experience and reliability, a foundation for a side that wobbled alarmingly last season.
They are not done at the back. Spurs want another defender and are actively pursuing Brighton’s Jan Paul van Hecke. At the same time, Brighton have tested Tottenham’s own resolve with a £30m bid for teenage centre-back Luka Vuskovic. The 19-year-old impressed on loan at Hamburg and is keen on the move, but Spurs are unlikely to accept the current proposal.
All of this sits under the same umbrella: reshape the squad to fit De Zerbi’s style. That means a central midfielder who can run games – Tonali – but also more threat and variety in the final third.
Wide threat, goals and a looming goalkeeping call
Tottenham have been hunting a winger capable of replacing Heung-Min Son’s influence for a year. They have already missed with moves for Bryan Mbeumo and Antoine Semenyo. Man City’s Savinho is one of the names under serious consideration this summer as they search for pace, direct running and end product from wide areas.
De Zerbi also wants another striker, ideally one who can operate across the front line. Given the injury problems that shredded Spurs’ options last season, he is pushing for flexibility and depth, not just a traditional No 9.
There is another potential headache coming in goal. Guglielmo Vicario could return to Italy, with Juventus listing him as a possible target and Inter having shown interest previously. Should an offer land that satisfies all parties, Spurs will have to move for another goalkeeper. Antonin Kinsky finished the season as De Zerbi’s No 1 and impressed in the run‑in, but the club cannot afford to be caught short in such a pivotal position.
A defining move in a brutal market
All roads, though, keep leading back to the middle of the pitch. De Zerbi wants a team that keeps the ball, suffocates opponents and controls the chaos that has stalked Tottenham for years. For that, he needs a midfielder with authority and nerve.
Sandro Tonali is that player. Newcastle know it. Tottenham know it. In a summer when £100m midfielders are starting to look like the norm rather than the exception, the question is simple: how far are Spurs willing to go to prove they are serious about the De Zerbi era?
