Why World Cup star is Newcastle’s dream Tonali replacement

All eyes are on the World Cup, gripping and relentless in the early knockout stages. For Newcastle United, extra focus would have been placed on Switzerland’s 2-0 win over Algeria, with transfer target Johan Manzambi dazzling once again.

The Freiburg midfielder started the campaign as something of an impact substitute, but he has now established himself as a mainstay at the business end, confirming Eddie Howe‘s hunch that this could be a world-beating midfielder in the making.

Whether Newcastle will get it done remains to be seen; supporters certainly won’t be holding their breath.

However, with Sandro Tonali joining Tottenham Hotspur for £100m and Arsenal’s interests vested in Bruno Guimaraes, it’s becoming clear that Howe needs to oversee a sweeping summer rebuild.

How about another breaking star at the World Cup?

Newcastle in talks to sign World Cup star

Newcastle slumped to a 12th-place Premier League last season, and Howe came within a whisker of losing his job.

But PIF have kept the faith in that title-winning manager, who is looking to piece St. James’ Park back together, even with Anthony Gordon sold to Barcelona and Tonali now on the verge of moving to London.

Things are starting to move forward. Bazamanou Toure is close to agreeing a move to Tyneside, the Hoffenheim winger billed as the perfect Gordon replacement, and Manzambi could define Newcastle’s midfield system for many years to come.

However, it’s clear that the Magpies need another in the engine room, with Spurs’ Archie Gray of interest, having already seen a bid rejected for the young Englishman.

Gray might well be set to head in the opposite direction to Tonali, although Newcastle also have a more experienced star in their sights.

According to TEAMtalk, Newcastle are among the outfits to have held talks with the representatives of Morocco international Neil El Aynaoui, who has put in first-class showings against Brazil and the Netherlands at the World Cup.

The 24-year-old has struggled to cement a starting berth for Roma in Serie A, but is surely demonstrating on the global stage his potential to succeed in the Premier League.

Last summer, Leeds United expressed interest in completing a £17m deal. It’s fair to say that Roma are going to have higher demands this year.

Why El Aynaoui can replace Tonali at Newcastle

At the World Cup, El Aynaoui has been “immense in the midfield“, according to journalist Antonio Mango. This is one of the most underrated midfielders at the tournament, someone who has played a key role in Morocco’s advancement to the quarter-finals, where they will face co-hosts Canada.

Watching him this summer, it feels like we are witnessing the birth of a superstar, which makes El Aynaoui’s bit-part role with Roma last season, starting only eight times in Serie A, all the more perplexing.

His skilled and well-rounded game suggests he could be the perfect replacement for someone like Tonali, who might be a sensation, but who “was average last season“, as The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards has argued, hardly on the same level as Guimaraes.

Tonali’s Italy failed to qualify for their third successive World Cup, but when looking at how El Aynaoui ranks up against someone like Manzambi, we can see how his industrious and smart midfield play could prove the perfect addition for this Toon team.

Whether El Aynaoui would match Tonali’s physicality and his precision on the ball when jumping over to the Premier League remains to be seen. Whether he can make an instant impact is certainly a question that needs to be had, but we do know that the midfielder has not been phased by the weight of a World Cup campaign.

It’s crucial that this deal is done. Manzambi will add flair and he will excite the Toon persuasion, but El Aynaoui will instil control and add a combative edge to Howe’s project.

Tonali, too, is a midfielder who doesn’t always rank highly on the metrics that fans are often drawn towards. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t one of the best in the Premier League. El Aynaoui could offer something similar, failing to earn the acclaim of Ayyoub Bouaddi beside him for Morocco, but still playing a fundamental role in an exciting campaign.

Any number of suitors are interested in signing the 24-year-old midfielder. Newcastle need to put their money where their mouth is and add him to their ranks.