Sandro Tonali news at Newcastle United could spell trouble for Blackburn Rovers: Opinion | OneFootball

Highlights

Blackburn Rovers have managed to stand firm for quite some time.

According to teamTALK, various Premier League outfits ranging from Newcastle United, Brighton and Wolves to Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United have all tested Rovers' resolve with approaches for highly-regarded midfielder Adam Wharton over the last year.

Wharton - who only celebrated his 19th birthday in June - has enjoyed a meteoric rise after emerging from Blackburn's academy, making 33 competitive appearances at the time of writing and surfacing among the Championship's most vaunted young prodigies.

It's no surprise that he's attracted such a high volume of interest, then, and you've got to give Blackburn some credit for standing their ground and refusing to sanction a sale just yet in spite of how much money those aforementioned suitors would be willing to put on the table.

Many clubs would sell at the first sight of a significant sum, it must be said.

But nonetheless, Jon Dahl Tomasson must already know that he won't be able to keep hold of his prized asset forever, and as such, he'll be sweating over the recent drama at St James' Park that could well prove consequential in Lancashire come the January transfer window.

Newcastle United's Sandro Tonali set to receive a football ban

There's fear in the North East too, as summer import Sandro Tonali is set to be slapped with a lengthy ban from all football-related activities for betting on AC Milan to win games while he was still with the Italian outfit prior to his recent switch.

The authorities are clamping down on these offences and didn't pull any punches when handing an eight-month ban to Brentford's Ivan Toney in May, so there's every chance they'll brandish a similar or even longer prognosis to Tonali once investigations conclude.

It's a significant blow for Eddie Howe, who shelled out £55m from the club's colossal transfer kitty over the summer to bring the 15-cap Italy international to Tyneside from the San Siro.

With well over 100 appearances to his name for Milan's black-and-red divide and plenty of pedigree in the prestigious UEFA Champions League, Tonali has caught the eye when he's been on the pitch and Newcastle will have to source a swift solution if they remain intent on competing on all fronts across the current campaign - and they may seek to renew their interest down at Blackburn as a result.

Could Blackburn Rovers' Adam Wharton really sign for Newcastle United as a Sandro Tonali replacement?

In certain elements, Wharton and Tonali are immeasurable.

Granted, one may just be a blossoming youngster in the second-tier of English football compared to one of Europe's finest midfield stars, but Newcastle find themselves in a real corner that could see desperation kick in.

Anyone expecting the Magpies to splash the cash on a deluxe Tonali replacement in the January window may be in for a shock, as they'll alternatively need to be shrewd and cost-efficient in order to avoid falling foul of Financial Fair Play regulations.

With that in mind, it actually wouldn't be too surprising to see them plot a move for Wharton; some may contest that he's not yet ready for Premier League football, but the lengthy queue that his talents have formed suggest different.

And despite the financial muscle that Newcastle have flexed for the most part since their record-breaking takeover, there's still a moderate dearth of options in the middle of the park.

It's not yet doomsday there - Brazilian stars Joelinton and Bruno Guimaraes make up a strong midfield pairing in the Toon engine room and have a respectable supporting cast in the likes of Joe Willock, Sean Longstaff and Elliot Anderson, but it's hard to deny that they could do with additional personnel in order to incorporate further squad depth.

That's a pivotal factor if their promising Champions League campaign is to be maintained.

Indeed, the opportunity to play in the latter stages of club football's chief competition may well tempt Wharton, and who can really blame him?

Gaining such experiences and strutting his stuff alongside top-class operators like Guimaraes, Alexander Isak and Kieran Trippier would surely send his career into the stratosphere, and exciting duo Anderson and Anthony Gordon will both be quick to illustrate to him just how beneficial Howe is to a young footballer's development, too.

On the other hand, he may not fancy it - there is always that, after all, and Blackburn will be keeping their fingers tightly crossed that Wharton prefers the challenge of guiding them back to the big time instead, but they can't bank on such a bold stance.