Sandro Tonali: How the Newcastle midfielder’s new role can help restore his side’s Premier League ambitions

When Newcastle signed Sandro Tonali for £55m in 2023, they recruited one of the hottest properties in Italian football.

Dubbed the ‘new Andrea Pirlo’, bringing the Italy international to Tyneside was a major coup and a signal of intent that reflected the club’s growing ambition. The transfer of Tonali coincided with the club’s preparations for their first appearance in the Champions League in 20 years.

Often, new signings are given a period of grace to bed in but when Tonali crashed in his first Newcastle goal against Aston Villa in their opening fixture, he appeared to have settled into his new home at St James’ Park.

Unfortunately, the 440 minutes played in his debut season would only serve as a teaser of what was to come. A 10-month suspension due to betting breaches meant that Newcastle were without Tonali from October 2023 to the opening month of this season.

Newcastle, who had achieved their highest Premier League finish of fourth the season prior, limped to a seventh-place finish in his absence. They also crashed out of the Champions League at the group stage and failed to progress past the quarter-finals in both domestic cup competitions.

But now Tonali is very much back and belatedly finding a home at Newcastle.

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Patience after 10 months in the dark

Tonali describes the 10 months he spent suspended as a “low” period during his career but he had the support of his team-mates to drag him through the difficult spell.

“The first month was difficult,” Tonali told Sky Sports News after he scored twice as Newcastle overcame Brentford to reach the Carabao Cup semi-final.

“But I found a great team and great people off the pitch. The low times were a little bit difficult but from January to August, the time [felt] a little bit quicker. I was happy, I am happy now.”

In scoring his double, Tonali found the back of the net for the first time since his goalscoring debut in August 2023. However, while the goals marked a supposed turning point in his personal fortunes, despite returning at the beginning of this season, Tonali struggled to carve out a place in the side. Amid Newcastle’s early season inconsistency, Tonali’s return wasn’t going to plan.

Until the middle of December, Tonali was winless in the six Premier League games he had started. Newcastle only picked up four points in those games, suffering defeats to Chelsea and Brighton while also surrendering a lead to Crystal Palace during that time.

Despite struggling for both form and rhythm in the Newcastle starting 11 with Sean Longstaff preferred by Eddie Howe, Tonali being subbed off by the Magpies boss was met by boos.

Finding a balance in midfield

Tonali has found a happy place in a new role in Newcastle’s midfield. At the beginning of the season, Bruno Guimaraes operated as the deepest midfielder while Tonali occupied an area higher up the pitch.

The pair have now found a working medium with Guimaraes now playing further forward, predominantly on the right-hand side as the No 8 while Tonali sits in as a No 6.

“We are very complimentary,” Guimaraes told Sky Sports News.

“It’s a benefit for the team. We never keep our position, we always try and rotate our positions to not get marked, so I think the gaffer found a way to benefit the team with our position.

“Sometimes I’m the No 8, sometimes he’s the No 6 or sometimes I’m the No 6. We both have the same style of play.”

Howe has chopped and changed his midfield this season, looking for the golden balance between covering the back four and supporting the attack.

Facing the play in central midfield, Tonali allows the likes of Guimaraes and Joelinton to impact games going forward with an added feeling of security as reflected in their performances against Brentford in the Carabao Cup, Leicester and Ipswich.

The Newcastle boss shares in Guimaraes’ sentiment about his strengthening midfield and Tonali’s performances.

“I’m excited by how the midfield three is looking,” he said after Newcastle thrashed Leicester 4-0 to end a winless run.

“We are starting to see the best of Sandro Tonali. I thought his athletic performance was very good and he’s just very intelligent with the ball, making good decisions.”

It’s early days and tougher tests lie ahead but Newcastle’s new-look midfield, anchored by Tonali, may just give Eddie Howe’s side the platform to restore their fight to upset the status quo at the top of the Premier League.

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