When Sandro Tonali 'spoke from the heart' at Newcastle United
The midfielder has left the club, along Anthony Gordon and Kieran Trippier –and fans fear that captain Bruno Guimaraes could be sold to Arsenal.
A couple of years ago, Sandro Tonali made a vow to Newcastle United at a Tokyo wedding venue.
Tonali, serving the last part of his 10-month ban for breaching betting rules, was on stage along with three team-mates at a fan engagement event in Shinjuku during the club’s pre-season tour of Japan.
The midfielder had missed much of his first season on Tyneside because of the suspension, and there was a hush in the room when Tonali, in the spotlight after so long in the shadows, was handed the microphone.
Tonali made it clear that the 2024/25 season was a fresh start for him. He pledged to give his all that season, and the room erupted when the Italy international, signed from AC Milan in the summer of 2023, finished speaking.
And Tonali, backed by the club’s supporters after his long absence, made the most of that fresh start over the following months.
Tonali quickly hit the ground running in midfield alongside Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton. He covered an incredible amount of ground that season, and was a big influence with and without the ball.
And Tonali’s name was chanted up and down the country by Newcastle fans during what would turn out to be a historic season.
The “Sandro, ole, ole, ole” chant seemingly lasted from Kings Cross to Wembley Park on the Tube I took to the Carabao Cup final. It never stopped, and nor did Tonali on the field that day.
Tonali played a big part in that success, and bigger things were expected from him and that team.
Yet, a little over a year later, Tonali is gone. So too is Anthony Gordon, another member of the club’s Carabao Cup-winning squad. The winger joined Barcelona before heading to the World Cup with England.
Gordon showed what Newcastle, a club that needs to trade due to European and domestic financial fair play regulations, will be missing at the tournament, setting up three goals and scoring another in the semi-final defeat to defending champions Argentina.
I spoke to then-chief executive officer Darren Eales about Tonali at another fan event at a rooftop bar in Tokyo two years ago for the Daily Mail.
“He just spoke from the heart,” said Eales. “You got a sense of what Sandro Tonali is as a player.”
But Tonali had his heart set on a move this summer after a disappointing campaign for him – and the club – last season, the 26-year-old joining Tottenham Hotspur in a deal which reportedly could be worth up to £100million.
For many fans, Gordon’s desire to join Barcelona was easier to understand than Tonali’s keenness for a move to Tottenham given the north London club’s recent struggles in the Premier League.
“It was like magic, because I knew immediately that I had to sign for Tottenham,” he said.
So Newcastle have lost a midfield magician – and the club must replace him.
United – who signed Ivory Coast winger Bazoumana Toure from Hoffenheim following Gordon’s departure – have a lot to do this summer. They have also lost the experience and influence of Kieran Trippier, who left following the expiry of his contract.
Against this background, can Newcastle afford to lose captain Bruno Guimaraes? The Brazil international has been the heartbeat of the team, and seemingly the glue that has stuck everything together, in recent seasons.
Guimaraes reportedly wants to join Arsenal, the Premier League champions, but losing him is unthinkable, such has been his influence on the field since he joined amid a relegation battle in January 2022.
In Tokyo, Eales also talked about the need to strengthen the squad every window, but the losses of Tonali, Gordon and Trippier have weakened it – for now.
Newcastle’s squad was in danger of going “stale” last year, according head coach Eddie Howe, but the scale of the renewal now needed this summer is eye-opening.
And fans can only hope that Guimaraes is part of a fresh, new United this coming season.