1 week ago
42
A source at Newcastle United has reportedly admitted that Sandro Tonali might want to return to Italy in the coming years, despite renewing.
In recent weeks there has been a lot of talk about Tonali possibly coming back to Italy, and in particular to his boyhood club Milan, who he left in the 2023 summer window. Matteo Moretto’s recent comments regarding his fate and a possible future at Milan certainly sparked a bit of intrigue.
However, all of this was dampened on Thursday, when news emerged that Tonali has in fact renewed his contract with Newcastle United by a year, with an option for another season after that. The midfielder wanted to show appreciation after they stuck by him through his ban.
Italy return not ruled out
TMW report that Tonali will earn €8m net per year with his new deal, but with several clauses regarding his return after paying off his debt. Effectively, that’s five years worth €80m gross in total, and the transfer fee demanded would be €80-90m at least.
An internal Newcastle source, interviewed by TMW, explained their position on a possible departure: “He’s a key player for us. We know he might even want to return to Italy in the coming years. It certainly won’t be a topical issue in the short term.”
It is a sort of confirmation of Tonali’s own words in recent weeks, as he said: “It’s difficult to answer, you never know what you want to do and what will happen. But I always tell everyone yes, ultimately an Italian always has the chance, even a 1%, of returning to Serie A.
“Maybe not now, I’m at a point where I’ve found my form and everything is fine. But I never close the door on a return to Serie A because it’s my country and my league, which is becoming increasingly beautiful. Serie A improves every year, the teams get stronger and stronger, and the technical level improves with each transfer market.”
English (US) ·