Newcastle United have made an opening offer for AC Milan midfielder Sandro Tonali in an effort to beat Chelsea to his signature.
Sandro Tonali has become a top target for Newcastle United with a €50million offer now believed to be on the table.
That is according to The Athletic, who claim that Newcastle have now made their move to try and sign Tonali.
Reports from the Daily Mail last week suggested that Newcastle were discussing trying to land Tonali.
It now seems that the Magpies are moving forward with their attempts to land Tonali with €50million (£43million) offered.
The Athletic’s report adds that Chelsea are also interested in signing Tonali, but Newcastle have tried to steal a march on the Blues.
Whether Milan are willing to sell Tonali is another matter entirely though.
Tonali only signed a new deal with Milan in September, committing his future to the club until 2027.
That leaves the Serie A side in a strong position and £43million may not be enough to convince them to sell.
Sandro Tonali makes more sense than Nicolo Barella for Newcastle United
Links to Tonali come after Newcastle attempted to land Inter Milan star Nicolo Barella.
The Telegraph reported last week that Newcastle were closing in on a £50million swooped for Barella.
That seems incredibly unlikely now with Inter demanding much more than £50million for their star midfielder.
That report did add that Barella would be used as a sitting midfielder for Newcastle, which just doesn’t add up given that he never plays there for Inter.
Tonali predominantly played as a holding midfielder for AC Milan, but usually in a 4-2-3-1 with Rade Krunic alongside him.
Hailed as an ‘incredible player’ by former Italy international Federico Balzaretti, Tonali has also shown the ability to drive forward with the ball through midfield.
Tonali rarely plays the holding role on his own but Newcastle may trust him to play there, allowing Bruno Guimaraes to go forward.
That certainly makes more sense than putting Barella in that role and Tonali may well be a little cheaper than his fellow Italian this summer.
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