Newcastle: Sandro Tonali is now not ‘untouchable’ at St James’ Park | OneFootball

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Newcastle United summer signing Sandro Tonali is not an ‘untouchable’ asset under Eddie Howe's stewardship as transfer insider Dean Jones gives reasoning behind his absence against Sheffield United, while speaking to GIVEMESPORT.

With Champions League football in their congested calendar this season, it will give Howe and his entourage a chance to experiment with players out-of-favour.

The Tyneside-based outfit have not been able to emulate their fine form from 2022/23 in the early embers of the new campaign, having lost three of their opening six outings. The hurt will be lessened, however, knowing that they came against sides all currently residing in first, second and third place, which are Manchester City, Liverpool and Brighton & Hove Albion, respectively.

Alternatively, Howe’s outfit have enjoyed their fair share of impressive wins, most notably their 8-0 victory against Premier League strugglers Sheffield United. Eight different scorers got their name on the scoresheet during their away visit to the topflight new boys and highlighted the array of talent they possess across the board. And that was without their midfielder enforcer Tonali, who they shelled out £55m for in the summer.

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Since his arrival from Italian stalwarts AC Milan, the 23-year-old has featured in 379 minutes of playing time across six domestic and European fixtures and has the solitary goal to his name. There has been speculation over his best position and how best to use him in order to complement Bruno Guimaraes’ best qualities with Sky Sports’ Keith Downie telling GIVEMESPORT he’d like to see the Italy international utilised at the fulcrum of the midfield.

This would, in turn, allow the likes of Guimaraes to roam further up field and give Newcastle more intent to be devastating in the final third. Transfer insider Jones has now given the latest on Tonali and why Howe and his entourage will ensure he is fairly rotated throughout an all-important campaign.

Sandro Tonali will be subject to rotation at Newcastle United – Dean Jones

When asked whether Tonali’s omission from the starting line-up against Sheffield United was a cause for concern, transfer insider Jones suggested that no player in Howe’s squad is guaranteed to play every game. Especially with the added distraction of European football, he insisted that their squad depth will be tested over the course of 2023/24.

Newcastle United poised to bolster their defence with £35m Bundesliga gem

As time goes by, Howe is slowly turning his Premier League outfit into a hardened force to be reckoned with after spending just shy of £135m on new faces in the summer just gone. Especially as journalist Ben Jacobs told GIVEMESPORT that the club’s owners are hoping for Champions League football to become the norm, getting their recruitment right will be imperative.

In line with that forward-thinking objective, Bayer Leverkusen defender Piero Hincapie, whose versatility is understood to be an attractive prospect, has been identified by the Newcastle hierarchy, Jacobs told GIVEMESPORT. Jacobs insisted that a fee around the £35m mark would be enough to lure the coveted defender away from Germany, especially with a dream switch to England's topflight on the cards. In January of this year, Football Insider reported that both parties were in open dialogue over a potential switch for the Ecuadorian, though Tottenham Hotspur were initially interested, too.

The 21-year-old would be an astute successor to Dan Burn, who is 10 years Hincapie’s senior and given the former can play centrally or on the left-hand side of the defence, it’d come as little surprise to see them go back in for his services when the window re-opens for business.