Tottenham‘s pursuit of Sandro Tonali continues to dominate headlines as the club push ahead with plans to strengthen Roberto De Zerbi‘s midfield options.
The Italy international has emerged as one of Spurs’ leading targets for the summer window.
Multiple reports have suggested Tottenham are prepared to make a major financial commitment in an attempt to bring Tonali to north London, with Alfredo Pedulla even suggesting they could splash around £100 million.
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Fabrizio Romano recently reported that Spurs were preparing to open club-to-club talks with Newcastle after completing other priority deals like Jan Paul van Hecke, Marcos Senesi and Andy Robertson.
Subsequent reports then indicated that Tonali is open to the move and that discussions have already taken place with the 26-year-old’s camp.
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The Lilywhites are chasing a mega-money deal for the Italian.
While there have been suggestions that Tottenham have received encouragement from the player’s representatives, Newcastle’s position is becoming increasingly clear.
On Saturday night, news emerged confirming that the Lilywhites opened club-to-club talks with the Magpies, even going as far as to leap ahead of Arsenal and Man City in the queue with an opening bid.
However, unluckily for De Zerbi’s side, their £80 million offer was rejected out of hand.
The Magpies are not actively looking to sell Tonali, and it is going to take a mammoth bid to convince them otherwise.
The asking price has regularly been placed around the £100m mark, with Spurs’ opening offer falling short.
While Tottenham are going to have a hard time negotiating with Eddie Howe’s side, David Ornstein has confirmed that they’re going to go all out when it comes to personal terms in an effort to secure the player’s buy-in.
Tottenham ready to throw ‘big money’ at Sandro Tonali
Speaking on The Athletic podcast, via Gary Ward, Ornstein confirmed that Tottenham are ready to offer Tonali a ‘big money’ contract to join them.
“There is an acceptance at St. James’s Park that Tonali could exit this summer, but the money has to be right,” he said.
“We think that is around £100m, with a very significant salary demand as well.
“What I see happening here is Tottenham trying to get to a place where they know they can do a deal with the player on salary.
“I’m hearing they are offering him really big money to join them.
“Also, the salary numbers I am hearing would take Tottenham to an area that you did not use to see them go before.”
A transfer fee in the region of £100m would comfortably surpass Tottenham’s previous transfer record, and the salary package being discussed would also represent a significant commitment.
Tonali remains one of Newcastle’s most valuable players, and is already on a deal believed to be worth around £150,000-per-week, so Spurs will have to make him a mega salary offer to surpass that.
Since arriving in English football, the midfielder has established himself as a key figure at St James’ Park.
Before joining Newcastle, he spent three seasons with AC Milan and played an important role in their Serie A title-winning campaign in 2022.
Tonali has also become a regular member of the Italy team, with Arsenal, City and Man United having all been linked with the midfielder at various stages.
However, it is clear that Spurs are the club making the strongest push right now.
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