AC Milan midfielder Sandro Tonali has officially swapped red and black for white and black as his move to Newcastle United in the Premier League has been officially announced.
The Italian midfielder was away at the U21 European Championships when the deal first hit the headlines and it accelerated rapidly whilst he was in Romania and Georgia. He was not able to stop Italy from getting knocked out in the group stage.
The transfer fee is believed to be in the region of €70 million, money that Milan were not able to turn down given their financial limitations. There is an element of shock to the deal given Tonali is a Milan fan and was never seriously linked with a move coming into the summer, but Newcastle have moved very quickly and he has accepted the move.
The finances behind Tonali to Newcastle
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sempre Milan), Newcastle will pay a sum close to €70m and there will also be bonuses on top of that. Milan will also get a percentage of any future sale.
Tonali will be on a five-year contract worth €8m net per season as well as bonuses. The deal is Milan’s biggest sale, surpassing the €67m sale of Kaka to Real Madrid. It will also be Newcastle’s biggest signing, pipping the €70m they spent on Alexander Isak.
What are Newcastle getting with Tonali?
Put simply, they are getting one of the best young midfielders in Europe. At 23 years old, Tonali has got a lot of room for improvement but he has come into his own over the past 18 months.
His start to life at Milan was not easy, but he worked hard and was one of the first four or five names on the team sheet for the entirety of the 2022/23 campaign under Stefano Pioli.
He can run with the ball, he is certainly not shy of a tackle, and his engine is superb. He is very effective at almost every part of midfield play, without being a specialist at anything in particular. He only scored twice during the season, but got 10 assists. He has experience in both a midfield two and three.
He also played 48 games, showing that he does not have any current fitness issues for Newcastle to worry about. He will certainly be a loss to Serie A given he plays the game with an infectious spirit, and Milan will have to make sure they invest the money wisely to ensure they do not regret this decision.
