Roberto De Zerbi pulled out all of the stops to prise Sandro Tonali from Newcastle United in the summer.
Giuseppe Riso has explained how Roberto De Zerbi convinced Sandro Tonali to join Tottenham Hotspur over Manchester City. In the summer transfer window, the Lilywhites managed to fend off interest from Enzo Maresca’s side and sign the 26-year-old midfielder from Newcastle United
Spurs forked out a club-record fee of £92.5m, plus a further £7.5m in add-ons, for Tonali, who put pen to paper on a six-year contract. After missing out on the Italy international, Manchester City swiftly turned their attention to Elliot Anderson, and a couple of weeks later, he left Nottingham Forest in a deal worth £116m.
During an appearance on the Italian sports podcast Colpi Da Maestro over the international break, Riso was quizzed on the transfer of his client to north London. As quoted by Tuttomercato, Tonali’s agent said: “It was a crazy move in terms of the noise, the numbers, and the responsibilities.
“I explained things to Sandro, I made him think, and I took responsibility. It turned out to be the right choice, even from a personal perspective, even though cycles end and we decided to leave.”
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When quizzed on the rumoured interest from Manchester City, Riso said: “After Newcastle, Tottenham showed they’re choosing differently; they’re courageous.
“Tottenham was reborn after the end of the season; Tottenham survived, and De Zerbi came to the house, telling him they needed him as a leader. The relationship with De Zerbi carried a lot of weight.”
Tonali spent three years at Newcastle United before joining Spurs. The Magpies signed the midfielder from AC Milan for £55m in July 2023 and went on to make more than 100 appearances.
When asked about Tonali’s departure from the San Siro, Piso said: “The first move was because we had the feeling that it was a different Milan. I know Milan inside and out, Sandro thought about it.
“He understood he wanted to join that kind of football, the Premier League. Sandro was intrigued by that choice, even though he was the captain of the Milan team that had won the Scudetto.
“It was extremely difficult for him, but he was a visionary; little by little, he got the hang of it, and then he established himself.”
Tonali hasn’t quite had the desired impact yet, with Tottenham sitting at the bottom of the Premier League. The Italian has been just one of three players – alongside Antonín Kinsky and Jan Paul van Hecke – to have started each of the opening five games.
He and his teammates will hope to finally win their first game of the campaign when they return to action after the international break.
On Saturday, October 10 Manchester United will host the Lilywhites at Old Trafford in what will be the battle of the winless…
