Why Newcastle want to sign “future £100m” midfielder to replace Tonali

Whisper it quietly, but Newcastle United are starting to bring the various pieces together in their bid to return to former heights under Eddie Howe‘s management.

A deal for Hoffenheim winger Bazamanou Toure has been agreed, easing fears that the Magpies were being consumed once again in the summer transfer window. There is still a long way to go, and it’s worth noting that the transfer has not been finalised, but the 20-year-old is flying to Tyneside for his medical this week.

Having already missed out on Victor Munoz this summer after Liverpool hijacked a move for the Osasuna winger, this is a move embraced as a step forward for the Toon, who need to sort themselves out quickly.

He has been hailed as “one of the most exciting young wingers in European football” by journalist Bence Bocsak, and it’s clear to see why. Should the Ivory Coast winger convert Bundesliga promise to high Premier League performance, the Toon could be onto a winner, landing an upgrade on Anthony Gordon, who has joined Barcelona for £69m this summer.

But it’s not all going swimmingly for Howe’s side this summer, with Sandro Tonali on the brink of a transfer to Tottenham Hotspur.

As much as it hurts, there is a sense that Tonali’s transfer to Tottenham could be a good thing. The Italian midfielder has been itching for the exit for a while, and the potential nine-digit figure could pay dividends for a team in transition.

As The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards says, “He was average last season“. Tonali is one of the most elegant and physical midfielders in the country, instrumental at times, when Howe’s unit was firing on all cylinders. But he hasn’t been perfect, and Newcastle could actually pull off a blinder by shrewdly replacing him.

Who is fit for the task is another question, though. The midfield market is currently in overdrive, but Howe and his technical director, Ross Wilson, have a plan.

According to the Daily Mail, Tottenham midfielder Archie Gray has been the subject of an enquiry from Tyneside, though it has been knocked back.

Gray, 20, is one of the most exciting young midfielders in the Premier League, and with a £70m price tag, it could be a difficult one for PIF to pull off, though he is a midfielder who could end up replacing and maybe even improving on Tonali.

Why Gray can be Newcastle’s Tonali replacement

Gray joined Tottenham from Leeds United two years ago, signing for a £30m fee. He has been thrown into the thick of it, all right, winning the Europa League but also at the epicentre of a number of issues at the club, helping Spurs and Roberto De Zerbi fight off relegation.

Predicted to become a “future £100m centre-midfielder” by analyst Ben Mattinson, Gray hasn’t always had it easy at Spurs, but there’s no question that he is among the most mature and robust midfield talents in the game, someone whose versatility could be streamlined on Tyneside.

He is both tidy and tenacious, maybe lacking the kind of technicality that someone like Tonali would provide at the centre of the pitch, but still offering a melange of qualities that would align perfectly with Howe’s industrious set-up.

Tactically intelligent, athletic and well-rounded, Gray has all the tools to replace Tonali at Newcastle. After all, the Italian maestro might be of surpassing technical ability, but he hasn’t always been the most consistent midfielder in the Premier League, as was evidenced last year.

Tonali created a chance 0.9 times per game on average throughout the 2025/26 season. He might be a smart distributor, but he failed to connect the thirds together with the same success as Guimaraes.

He is an efficient dribbler, with a 61% success rate, and Gray’s ability to cover immense stretches of ground – across a variety of tactical roles – further underlines his potential as Tonali’s successor.

It’s hard to read too much into the minutiae of Gray’s Spurs career, but there is certainly a lot to like, and if Howe can stabilise his project, Gray could end up being the perfect Tonali replacement.