Why Newcastle must replace Tonali and Guimaraes with £50m star

Newcastle United have experienced a sobering summer transfer window so far.

Indeed, Magpies fans have been transported back to the doom and gloom reality that engulfed St. James’ Park when Alexander Isak left last summer, with Sandro Tonali leaving the Toon behind for Tottenham Hotspur for a mammoth £100m.

Like their lingering agony with Isak, too, the Premier League giants have been unsuccessful, so far, in immediately landing a replacement for their star Italian, with Hugo Ekitike publically snubbing Eddie Howe’s men last summer.

This time around, it was Johan Manzambi who turned down a move to Tyneside in favour of joining Aston Villa, after a breakout 2026 World Cup.

With the future of Bruno Guimaraes also uncertain amid links to Arsenal, landing a new midfielder is a must this summer, with Howe and Co in talks over signing a long-standing target.

Newcastle in talks to sign Premier League midfielder

Newcastle haven’t been idly sitting on their hands watching all this transfer news take place.

As has been mentioned, they were very keen on landing Manzambi, and they nearly got that deal over the line, with Ederson – who currently plays for Atlanta – also present on their ever-extending shopping list.

A move for Ederson to move to Tyneside could soon be on the cards, with the Brazilian no longer wanted by Manchester United, but instead of tapping into the Serie A market to try and replace Tonali, the Magpies might look closer to home.

As per Sky Sports journalist Keith Downie, via his YouTube, Newcastle remain in talks to try and sign Tottenham Hotspur ace Lucas Bergvall, who looks to be on the move from the North London titans, owing to the £100m capture of Tonali.

Reports had suggested that a £46m bid had even been lodged by Howe’s men, but Downie has clarified that discussions only took place surrounding his price-tag, without an official bid being made. Previous reports have indicated it may take £50m to prise him away from Spurs.

For Newcastle’s sake, they’ll hope they can work out a deal for the promising Swede, as he arguably possesses shades of both Tonali’s and Guimaraes varied games, all while only being 20 years of age.

How Bergvall compares to Tonali and Guimaraes

Bergvall has made quite the impression on Premier League audiences during his brief stay at Spurs to date.

Despite only featuring 50 times in the English top-flight, the young midfielder has one goal and four assists to shout about, with his well-timed header against West Ham United his first-ever top-flight goal for Spurs.

Last season, he collected three of those four assists, despite only starting 11 league games, meaning he has a similar eye to change games that Guimaraes has in abundance at Newcastle, hence his tag as a “game-changing” presence which was handed to him by Howe in 2023.

But, like both the Italian and Brazilian, Bergvall is a well-rounded individual from the centre of the park, as the 20-year-old can dictate games from deep as a deep lying player.

Pep Guardiola, who knows top talent when he sees it, has even gone as far to label the Stockholm-born sensation as “unstoppable” when he gets the ball and then drives up the pitch, with both Tonali and Guimaraes known, too, when donning Newcastle black and white, to create openings from nothing when bombing forward from the middle of the park.

On the surface, Bergvall’s numbers in the table above don’t look immediately impressive, but his 48 duels won across 11 Premier League starts isn’t a million miles behind Tonali and Guimaraes, who won 107 and 168, respectively, from much more gametime.

Hand Bergvall more regular minutes, and he could hit the same levels of the energetic midfield duo.

Tottenham royalty, Ledley King, even noted last year that Bergvall was a “complete midfielder, with very few obvious weaknesses” as he can win tackles and duels wholeheartedly, like the new Spurs number 16 and the Arsenal-linked battler, yet remain so forward thinking.

Newcastle will have to cough up some major bucks to land Bergvall, with Nottingham Forest another suitor keen on handing the Scandinavian more gametime, away from North London.

With midfield recruits a high priority, the bank might have to broken, as the 20-year-old strives to become a firm fan favourite, like the departed Italian, and the relentless number 39, if a big move around the £50m mark gets off the ground.