Newcastle reach decision on selling Tonali to Man Utd as £24m deal signals ‘new transfer strategy’ | OneFootball

Newcastle ‘expect’ Sandro Tonali to leave this summer amid interest from Manchester United as a £24m signing signals a ‘new transfer strategy’ which will see top players granted exits from the club.

Tonali has been heavily linked with a move away from St James’ Park as his agent has been offering him around clubs in the Premier League and across Europe in the hope of a bid for the Italy international.

Manchester City are interested in Tonali if they fail to land top target Elliot Anderson, but Fabrizio Romano revealed on Monday that the Citizens are ‘confident’ of striking a deal for the Nottingham Forest star.

Romano wrote on X: ‘Manchester City are preparing a new official bid to be sent soon to Nottingham Forest for Elliot Anderson.

‘#MCFC confident to get the deal done after leading the race for months, since March.

‘Man United still keen but City ahead & optimistic.’

That leaves the door open for United to sign Tonali, and Italian outlet TuttoMercatoWeb claims Newcastle have been ‘offered a crazy sum’ by the Red Devils for the midfielder.

The Magpies ‘are asking €115 million to part with the former AC Milan midfielder’ and now United are ‘ready to accommodate the Saudi-owned club’s demands’.

And Newcastle won’t stand in his way according to The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards, who’s reported on a shift in transfer policy under sporting director Ross Wilson, who was appointed in October.

The Magpies are close to completing the £24m signing of Reims goalkeeper Ewen Jaouen as their first signing of the summer, which is seen as proof that they will ‘operate differently in the market under Wilson’.

Jaouen has not played in France’s top division an the 20-year-old is being signed ‘because of the player they believe he will become rather than the one he is now’.

Whereas before Newcastle would be looking to sign star players from Brighton, Forest, Brentford or Bournemouth, Wilson now ‘wants them to focus on the type of players those clubs sign’.

Newcastle also ‘hold a strong interest in 22-year-old Spain international Victor Muñoz’, who only managed six goals and two assists in 34 La Liga appearances for Osasuna last season, and they entered talks with 18-year-old Zadok Yohanna last week before they were beaten to the punch by Brighton.

Isak struggle opens door for Tonali

There will also be a change of approach with regard to player sales after the Alexander Isak debacle last summer.

One source told The Telegraph: “We need to take away the alarm that players do leave football clubs… It’s not a new phenomenon. Not every player linked with a move will leave, but some will and that is just the business of football. Every club sells players and we are going to do so too, as long as the terms of the deal are beneficial to us.”

The report claims that the Newcastle hierarchy now accept that they should either have sold Isak early in the window or not at all, and they’ve already shown this summer that they’re not going to fight to keep players who want out through the swift £70m exit of Anthony Gordon to Barcelona.

That’s good news for Tonali, and possible United, as it’s claimed Newcastle fans ‘should also brace themselves for another big-name departure’.

‘Some within the club expect rather than fear his departure’ even given the £100m price tag they’ve slapped on his head.

The report adds: