Sandro Tonali is currently en route via plane to London for his physical ahead of signing for Tottenham Hotspur. Because these things take time and social media videos don’t film or edit themselves, I expect the formal announcement to come first thing tomorrow.
But that isn’t stopping Tonali from talking about joining Spurs. Tottenham’s soon-to-be record transfer signing gave an interview with Sky Italy about why he’s coming to North London.
Oh, you don’t speak Italian? Well, let me translate* for you.
* – find a translation online
“It took a little while to get done. We had a kind of agreement with Newcastle, and we were talking every day until we finally got it over the line. They wanted the best outcome for me, and we wanted the best deal for them. We parted on great terms, everyone’s happy, and I’m ready for this new adventure.
Why Tottenham? [Roberto] De Zerbi played a huge part in my decision. It’s also a life and family choice after three years in Newcastle. De Zerbi deserves a lot of the credit—not just because we’re both from Brescia and friends, but because he’s an incredible professional who worked really hard to make this happen.
“We’ll take it one step at a time: first the medical, then the contract, and after that we’ll head off for preseason training. The squad won’t really come together for another month because the World Cup is on right now. The club is coming off a difficult season, but we’ll do everything we can to turn things around and make it a positive one.”
It’s a little unusual for a player to give an interview about joining a new club before he’s actually joined that club, but whatever. It’s also not surprising that Tonali specifically mentions Roberto De Zerbi as instrumental in bringing him to Tottenham. (The money probably also helps — Tonali is reportedly set to also become Spurs’ top wage earner.)
Tottenham certainly did work very hard to make this happen. Personal terms between Spurs and Tonali were reportedly in place mid-June and it just took this long to get the details sorted. My guess is that Newcastle wanted to wait until the new fiscal year on July 1 so the sale can go on their financial fair play books for this coming year and not last year.
Sandro Tonali cost a crapload of money to sign, probably too much of an overpay in my opinion, but he’s an excellent player. Between him and Mateus Fernandes, Spurs have got their starting central midfield sorted for probably the next 4-5 years. Now we just need to make sure he passes his physical and signs on the dotted line. Oh, and keep the betting apps off his phone. And also away from the Knights of Ren.
