Newcastle United continue to deal with transfer speculation involving many of their stars as the summer window approaches, with several first-team players drawing attention from clubs across Europe amid a season that feels more and more lost by the week.
Midfielder Sandro Tonali has again been linked with a return to Italy, with Juventus among the clubs mentioned in recent reports.
However, according to Craig Hope of the Daily Mail, a move back to Serie A is not realistically expected, not at least
as soon as this summer.
“Sandro Tonali will NOT be returning to Italy, despite continued speculation,” Hope wrote. “Again this week, there has been talk in his homeland of a summer move to Juventus for the midfielder. However, we understand Tonali does not see Serie A as the stage that will serve his career best in the coming years.”
The 25-year-old joined Newcastle from AC Milan and has developed under head coach Eddie Howe during his time in the Premier League.
“The 25-year-old appreciates the improvement made in nearly three years at Newcastle playing under Eddie Howe in the Premier League, and attributes some of that to the strength of the English top flight, which has six teams in the Champions League last 16, compared to just Atalanta from Serie A,” Hope added.
Tonali has become an established part of Newcastle’s midfield structure and remains under contract on Tyneside.
“Tonali’s future on Tyneside is not certain, but Italy would appear an unlikely destination if he were to seek a move,” Hope stated, albeit his argument about the England/Italy Champions League success is a bit too much considering who the heavyweights from the Premier League really are.
Newcastle are obviously expected to face further pressure with bids for key players and offers arriving at their table more often than not, so we’ll see how they handle it following a summer in which they surrendered—and they did right in doing so—to Alexander Isak’s demands and Liverpool’s record-breaking offer for the Swede.
