Tottenham Hotspur have reached an agreement to sign Sandro Tonali from Newcastle United in a deal that could reach £100million (£133m).
The north London club stepped up their pursuit of the Italy international late last month by initiating club-to-club contact with Newcastle.
They have now struck a deal which, if completed, would be a new club-record transfer eclipsing the potential £85m they have already agreed to pay West Ham United for fellow midfielder Mateus Fernandes.
Tottenham will pay an initial £92.5m for Tonali, 26, with an additional £7.5m in proposed add-ons based on multiple Champions League qualifications.
Spurs have already enjoyed a busy summer with Andy Robertson and Marco Senesi arriving as free agents and Jan Paul van Hecke joining from Brighton & Hove Albion for £52m.
Tonali and Fernandes will join a deep Tottenham midfield that currently includes Conor Gallagher, Rodrigo Bentancur, Pape Matar Sarr, Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall, though the Sweden international has informed the club of his desire to seek a new challenge elsewhere.
Tonali made 53 appearances for Newcastle in all competitions last season, scoring three times, as they finished 12th in the Premier League and reached the last-16 of the Champions League.
He moved to the club from Milan in July 2023 for a fee in the region of £60.5m, but received an immediate 10-month suspension in October of that year after being found guilty of breaching rules on gambling by the Italian Football Federation.
Tonali subsequently missed the remainder of the season and Italy’s 2024 European Championship campaign.
Since his return in August 2024, he has made 110 appearances for Newcastle, scoring 10 and assisting 10, forming a strong partnership with club captain Bruno Guimaraes in midfield.
Guimaraes was the subject of a verbal offer from Arsenal worth less than £60m earlier this week which was rejected.
He is not playing at this summer’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico after Italy failed to qualify.
Statement signing for Spurs
Analysis by Tottenham Hotspur correspondent Elias Burke
Tonali is among the very best central midfielders in the Premier League. Having finished 17th in successive seasons, Tottenham beating competitors, including Manchester City, to sign him at a club-record fee is another strong signal of intent that the Lewis family is serious about contending next season and beyond after agreeing another club-record deal to sign Fernandes yesterday.
Having shone for Newcastle last term in various roles in central midfield, Tonali appears a strong fit for De Zerbi as he looks to revamp Tottenham’s squad in his image. He is technically secure, an impressive athlete and an ambitious passer, which should help Tottenham’s protracted issues with central progression.
He also shares a strong personal connection with De Zerbi, having progressed through the Brescia academy, the town where the Spurs head coach was born and raised.
With four signings in defensive areas, Fernandes and Tonali provide steel and plenty of technical quality to their midfield. With attacking reinforcements still on the agenda, indications suggest that their business is far from done as the club looks to return to contending for Champions League qualification.
Optics bad, but this is Newcastle’s financial reality
Analysis by Newcastle United correspondent Chris Waugh
When it comes to the pure optics of Newcastle agreeing to sell Tonali to Spurs, having already sold Anthony Gordon to Barcelona in May and having lost Alexander Isak to Liverpool last summer, then they are really not good.
Spurs finished 17th in each of the past two seasons and, while Gordon and Isak leaving was frustrating, that was also understandable. Tonali opting to move to a rival, who finished lower in the table and are completely rebuilding, does not send out encouraging noises.
However, this is the financial reality Newcastle are operating within. Gordon had to be sold for Newcastle to try and comply with UEFA’s financial rules, having already accepted a fine for breaching them previously.
Tonali’s sale will allow Newcastle to reinvest, with a goalkeeper, at least one full-back, two midfielders and an attacker on the agenda for head coach Eddie Howe.
Losing Tonali and Gordon before a first-XI signing has arrived is not great. But Newcastle are confident this gives them the capacity to significantly strengthen the squad now.
Time will tell. They need incomings and quickly to turn the mood.
