Newcastle United sold Sandro Tonali to Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur for £100million during the summer transfer window.
The Italian midfielder became the Magpies’ second-most expensive ever sale when he joined Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the summer.
Tonali spent three years at St James’ Park after joining from AC Milan for £52million in the summer of 2023, but only really played in two seasons after being hit with a 10-month betting ban just eight games into his Toon career.
He resumed his career at the beginning of the 2024-25 campaign and helped Newcastle win the Carabao Cup and qualify for the Champions League. However, he was in no mood to stick around following last season’s disappointing 12th-place finish in the Premier League.
Yet it’s been a tough start to life in North London for Tonali, with Spurs currently sitting bottom of the table after failing to win any of their opening five matches. That included a 2-0 defeat to Newcastle at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Sandro Tonali mocked over £100m Newcastle United sale
Newcastle also sold Anthony Gordon to Barcelona for £69million and Bruno Guimaraes to Arsenal for £75million, but it is the Tonali deal Waddle believes supporters will be enjoying the most.
“Newcastle fans will be loving it,” Waddle told Betpack. “You know what fans are like, they’ll be cheering and thinking, ‘To get a hundred million pounds for him, we’re rubbing our hands.’
“Because he hasn’t done anything at Tottenham so far and he just looks like an average player there.
“So I just think Newcastle now will be thinking it’s unbelievable money for all the players they’ve sold. Look at Anthony Gordon… all right, he’s in and out of the team at Barcelona, he starts some, he doesn’t start others. He’s going to get a lot of the ball and a lot of time because Barcelona dominate football matches, and he probably will have a good season.
“But Tonali is at Tottenham now, and given the amount of money Newcastle got for these players, Newcastle will be quite happy, especially with the Tonali one, because he’s not started well at Tottenham.”
Sandro Tonali on his £100m price tag
Tonali is currently on international duty with Italy and during a recent interview, he was asked about his price tag. However, batted off the question.
“It doesn’t bother me,” Tonali said on his price tag, as quoted by Calciomercato. “I haven’t followed social media or newspapers in years, and that makes me feel really light-hearted
“Physically, I’m 100% now,” he added. “The pain I was having has resolved. I’m ready to do my part.
“Football is very strange. In 10 days, everything can change from negative to positive. I would classify our current situation as a club as negative in terms of results but positive for football. We’re having fun and creating chances. If you don’t score in football, you lose.
“We’re not in the doldrums. We’re alive and well, and we’re positive. We know the team is very strong. Here in the national team, it’s different. It’s a very new and young group; we’ve practically never played together. We just have to wait.”
