Sandro Tonali Remains Focused At Newcastle Amid Arsenal Transfer Speculation

Eddie Howe insists Sandro Tonali stays fully locked on Newcastle United duties despite links with Arsenal. The head coach explains that transfer noise has not affected preparation for the EFL Cup semi-final second leg against Manchester City, stressing that Tonali’s priorities remain Newcastle United and the upcoming tie.

Reports in England suggested Arsenal explored a possible move for Tonali late in the January window. The interest did not become a formal offer, and the Italy midfielder continues at Newcastle United, having joined from AC Milan in 2023 for a major move in his career.

Tonali features often for Newcastle United this season, with 35 appearances across competitions for Howe’s side. The midfielder has not scored yet, but Tonali supplies

four assists and creates 34 chances, second only to Bruno Guimaraes, who leads the squad with 49 in that creative metric.

Defensively, Tonali also brings aggression in midfield duels for Newcastle United. The 25-year-old wins 32 of 45 tackles, showing strong success in challenges. These numbers help explain why Arsenal monitored the situation and why Howe views Tonali as central to Newcastle United’s current and future plans.

As far as I'm aware, we've got a player that's an outstanding footballer, an outstanding person. He's very happy here, he's got a great relationship with me, his team-mates, he seems really, really happy within himself, so that would surprise me. But our best players will always be attracting glances from other clubs, that's just the reality of football. We want to keep the group together, we want to keep being progressive and, of course, Sandro plays a part in that, trying to hit his best levels and play as well as he can to help the team. All-encompassed, I don't see an issue, but as I say, I'm not in control of everything. He's absolutely focused on the here, the now, playing for us. His only focus, talking to him yesterday, was Manchester City and trying to win that game, so there's absolutely no issue with Sandro himself and he's very happy and he's committed. I find it difficult to talk about things that I don't know too much about. I can only talk about Sandro as the person and the player and his mindset here and now, having discussed things with him yesterday, and he's absolutely fine.

Howe explains that transfer speculation is part of elite football, especially for key Newcastle United players. The coach underlines a desire to keep the core squad intact and competitive, with Tonali expected to drive standards while concentrating on performing against Manchester City and in the Premier League.

While Tonali stays, there has been movement elsewhere in the Newcastle United squad. Long-serving captain Jamaal Lascelles left the club at the end of the window for Leicester City. The change highlights a period of adjustment, yet Howe still leans on Tonali as a major figure in midfield.

Newcastle United now enter a crucial stretch with Tonali settled despite the Arsenal links. Howe’s comments and Tonali’s statistics show a player trusted in possession, in defence, and in mentality. For Newcastle United supporters, the focus now turns to performances rather than speculation around the Italy international.