€100m Tonali won’t stay at Newcastle for 10 years and is nostalgic for Milan – report

Italy international Sandro Tonali has recently confessed that he is unable to commit his long-term future to Newcastle United, and now, reports in Italy claim that he is ‘nostalgic’ for Milan, and that Juventus are also still dreaming of bringing him back to Serie A. 

Tonali, who received the player of the match award after Newcastle’s 2-0 Champions League win over Athletic Club this week, told reporters after full-time: “I don’t want to say I want to stay here for 10 years and then in two, three, four or five years I go.” 

Recent reports revealed that Tonali signed an extension to his Newcastle contract during his 10-month betting suspension, which means that he is currently tied to the Premier League side until the summer of 2029 with an option to extend by a further 12 months. 

Despite having almost four, possibly five years remaining on his current Newcastle deal, despite the fact that he has recently insisted that he is ‘happy’ at St. James’ Park, and despite the fact that Newcastle valued him in the region of €100m last summer, reports in Italy continue to claim that Milan and Juventus remain interested in Tonali. 

As per Corriere della Sera, former Juventus sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli was always interested in bringing Tonali to Turin, but never had the economic feasibility to pull a deal off. The Italian outlet claims that Juventus are still interested following the appointment of technical director Francois Modesto. 

Corriere della Sera also claims that Tonali has told friends that he would one day like to return to his former club, Milan. 

The issue for both clubs remains financial. Tonali reportedly earns around €8m, up to €10m including bonuses, per season on his current Newcastle deal, and with so long left to go on his contract, there is little reason for Newcastle to budge on their current valuation. 

Still, Corriere della Sera predicts that Tonali will be a ‘protagonist’ during the summer transfer window. Whether clubs in Serie A will be able to stump up enough to convince Newcastle into a sale remains to be seen, though.