Chelsea monitoring Newcastle star for midfield rebuild

Soccer Football – Premier League – Newcastle United v Chelsea – St. James' Park, Newcastle, Britain – December 20, 2025 Newcastle United's Nick Woltemade celebrates scoring their second goal with Newcastle United's Bruno Guimaraes and Newcastle United's Sandro Tonali Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO USE WITH UNAUTHORIZED AUDIO, VIDEO, DATA, FIXTURE LISTS, CLUB/LEAGUE LOGOS OR 'LIVE' SERVICES. ONLINE IN-MATCH USE LIMITED TO 120 IMAGES, NO VIDEO EMULATION. NO USE IN BETTING, GAMES OR SINGLE CLUB/LEAGUE/PLAYER PUBLICATIONS. PLEASE CONTACT YOUR ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVE FOR FURTHER DETAILS..

Chelsea are closely monitoring Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali. The 25-year-old Italy international has impressed since joining Newcastle from AC Milan in the summer of 2023.

He has established himself as one of the Premier League’s elite midfielders, drawing admirers from near and wide. Football Insider has reported that the Blues are looking for more midfield cover and are considering a move for Tonali.

Chelsea are short of midfield cover behind first choice trio Cole Palmer, Moises Caicedo, and Enzo Fernandez. Romeo Lavia’s injuries are understood to be a concern at Stamford Bridge, leaving only youngster Andrey Santos as backup.

Tonali is seen as an experience midfielder that would offer competition as well as cover. The Italian is under contract until 2029, having signed an extension in October of 2025.

Tonali faced a 10 month ban from football for betting breaches, but has maintained the support of his club.

The player has repaid Newcastle for their good faith with his performances on the pitch. He’s made 64 Premier League appearances, scoring five goals and adding three assists.

Chelsea were big spenders over the summer, spending over £282m to bring in Jamie Gittens, Alejandro Garnacho, Joao Pedro, Liam Delap, and Jorrel Hato. Youngsters Dario Essugo, Mamadou Sarr, and Kendry Paez also joined.

The Blues still find themselves in search of more reinforcements in central midfield though, and could turn to Tonali. Any move would likely take a substantial fee, as Newcastle would demand more than the €70m they spent to acquire the player.

Chelsea would be looking to launch a move for the player over the summer rather than this month. The Blues are also in search of a new manager after parting ways with Enzo Maresca last week. Liam Rosenior of sister club Strasbourg is reportedly the leading candidate, with talks set to commence later this week.

Interim manager Calum McFarlane was on the touchline on Sunday as Chelsea grabbed a equalizer against Manchester City. Enzo Fernandez scored deep into stoppage as the match ended 1-1.

The result leaves Chelsea in fifth place in the Premier League table, three points off of the Champions League spots.

Nadji is a football writer with over 10 years of experience covering the Premier League. His work has been featured on Football Fancast, Arsenal-Mania, and Arsenal.com, where he has built a reputation for delivering sharp analysis, engaging storytelling, and in-depth coverage of the game.