Newcastle United reveal Sandro Tonali response to Arsenal interest after private talks
Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has held talks with Sandro Tonali after being linked with Arsenal.
The Italian was reportedly offered to the Gunners, who were exploring the market for a midfielder after losing Mikel Merino to a long-term foot injury.
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe is unsure where the story came from but has held sit-down talks with the player to seek assurances over his frame of mind.
Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe hold sit-down talks with Sandro Tonali
Howe said: “Sandro’s absolutely fine. I had discussions with Sandro yesterday. He’s absolutely focused on the here, the now, playing for us. His only focus, talking to him yesterday, was Manchester City and trying to win that game. So there’s absolutely no issue with Sandro himself. He’s very happy and he’s committed.
“I find it difficult to talk about things I don’t know too much about. I can only talk about Sandro as the person and the player and his mindset here and now, having discussed things with him yesterday. He’s absolutely fine.”
When asked if if he felt it was a tactic to unsettle Tonali ahead of the summer, Howe replied: “I don’t think so, but lots of things happen without my knowledge. As far as I’m aware, we’ve got a player that’s an outstanding footballer, an outstanding person.
“He’s very happy here, he’s got a great relationship with me, his teammates. He seems really, really happy within himself, so that would surprise me, but I think he’s always going to be attracting, or our best players will always be attracting glances from other clubs. That’s just the reality of football.
“We want to keep the group together, we want to keep being progressive and, of course, Sandro plays a part in that, trying to hit his best levels and play as well as he can to help the team. So, all encompassed, I don’t see an issue, but as I say, I’m not in control of everything.”
Howe added: “Certainly there was no intention from our side to lose Sandro at all. I think he’s such an integral player to what we’re doing. I think he’s very happy here, he loves playing for Newcastle and loves representing the city.”
Sandro Tonali has already addressed his Newcastle United future
Tonali gave a far from convincing response when asked about his future back in November.
That said, it is Newcastle that hold the control. The 25-year-old is under contract at St James’ Park until 2029, which includes an option of a further year, after signing an extension as a show of loyalty during his 10-month betting ban.
“This is a tough question because in football you need to think year on year,” said Tonali. “I don’t want to say ‘I want to stay here 10 years’ and in two years, three years, four years, five years I will go. I want to think, just for me, year on year.
“This is football. Last summer was tough for us, for Alex [Isak], but this is football.
“If you have an option for your life, for another team you need to think about everything. I don’t want to say, ‘Yes, I want to stay here for 10 years’ but now I’m happy here. I don’t think anything about another team.”