Sandro Tonali Serie A transfer return latest as finally Italian media accept the reality | OneFootball

A big happy birthday to Sandro Tonali who turns 25 today.

Here’s to many many happy birthdays for the class midfielder, as a Newcastle United player.

This 25th birthday celebration coincides with a very belated reality check in the Italian media, regarding Sandro Tonali.

It was a massive blow not just to AC Milan fans when Sandro Tonali chose to swap the San Siro for St James’ Park, the whole of Serie A and indeed all of Italian football was in shock.

They simply aren’t used to losing their very best homegrown quality players at such a young age, it was a massive blow to the image and self-respect of all football fans in Italy.

At the age of 23 and with all his best years ahead of him, Sandro Tonali choosing Newcastle United and the Premier League over any Serie A club.

Ever since the gambling ban ended in August 2024 and Sandro Tonali hit the ground running with brilliant form for club and country, the Italian media have become a laughing stock.

The better that Sandro Tonali has played, the more ridiculous the claims from the Italian media.

The Italian media claiming that not only would a Serie A club be able to attract Sandro Tonali to make a swift return to Italian domestic football, but that also Newcastle United would be willing to sell for the same figure they paid (£55m), or even accept less than that figure, whilst the very most extreme Italian media claims were that NUFC would allow one of their very best players to go back to a Serie A club on loan.

This is what happens when those in the media are so unscrupulous and will defy all logic, in order to give their audience what they want to hear. So basically, laughable valuations/selling prices put on Sandro Tonali, to make Italian football fans believe that it was plausible for Tonali to sign for a Serie A club.

The reality of course is that for starters Newcastle United have no intention of selling Sandro Tonali, a player widely regarded as only second behind Alexander Isak in his importance to the NUFC team. Also, with still over three years left on his Newcastle contract, zero pressure on United to sell.

Whilst when it came to the Italian media and arguably the very biggest piece of their deliberate misinformation, there was just what Sandro Tonali would cost for a Serie A club to take him back to Italy, if for some bizarre reason Newcastle United were willing to sell and Tonali wanted to leave a trophy winning club that is progressing rapidly, heading back into European competition and going places.

Now though, a major financial reality check in the Italian media, not before time…

Independent Juve FC site report – 8 May 2025:

‘Newcastle United, known for its robust financial position, is under no pressure to sell the Italian midfielder.

This reality poses a significant challenge for Juventus, which would be required to allocate considerable resources to make the transfer a reality.

According to Tuttomercatoweb, the total cost of the move, including transfer fees, salaries, and additional charges, could reach as high as 150 million euros (approx £128m).

Even though we are the biggest club in Italian football, we cannot afford to pay all that money to sign Tonali this summer.

This sentiment reflects the financial prudence the club must exercise, despite its stature and ambitions.’

Hopefully this now puts some kind of line under the numerous daft transfer claims in the Italian media of Sandro Tonali supposedly heading back to Serie A on the cheap, or indeed at all.