Nightmare Tottenham debut was a wake-up call for Sandro Tonali ahead of Newcastle reunion | OneFootball

Tottenham’s big money summer signing faces an early reunion with his former club

When Tottenham parted ways with the first nine figure transfer fee in the club’s history to sign Sandro Tonali, the perception was that he would be the poster boy for a new exciting era under Roberto De Zerbi.

The man for the big moments, a leader on and off the pitch and the central cog of Spurs’ well-oiled, newly-monied march back towards European qualification.

That mirage was shattered rather comprehensively on the first weekend of the season as Brentford’s Mamadou Sangare ran rings round the former Newcastle midfielder and left Spurs breathless.

That is not, however, to say that Tonali is not worth the £100million Spurs spent on him. His qualities are more subtle, less tangible and less headline-grabbing than his price tag suggests.

A disrupted pre-season has left Tonali needing to catch up physically. But at his best, the Italian can be the foundation Spurs need in the middle of the park. A tempo setter, dynamic and destructive in equal measure.

“Sandro Tonali’s value (£100m) is that value because he is one of the most important midfielders in the Premier League,” De Zerbi said.

Brentford was a reality check, and De Zerbi hopes it will act as a wake-up call as Tonali prepares to reunite with Newcastle at the weekend.

Sandro Tonali had a competitive debut to forget as Tottenham were well beaten by Brentford

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Magpies manager Matthias Jaissle says there will be extra motivation for his side, but De Zerbi is insistent that Tonali and his team-mates have a lot more to give after a humbling defeat to Brentford.

“We have the quality enough right now to win the (Newcastle) game and to play much better because it's normal to play better than we did in Brentford.”

De Zerbi will back his players to the end, and says Tonali has defied his expectations despite a relationship that stretches back to when Tonali was finding his feet as a youth player at Brescia.

Neat in possession, thoughtful and versatile, De Zerbi has been impressed with the 26-year-old since he arrived in north London and sees Tonali both as a No8 and a No6 in his 4-2-3-1 system.

“Sandro sincerely is much better than I thought before I worked with him,” De Zerbi continued.

“I already said many times, smart guy, smart player, very clean with the ball.

“Maybe can seem one player more of quantity and less quality. It’s not true.

“He’s a complete midfielder. He can play as a six, as an eight, he has the right intensity to play in the Premier League, and we are very happy for him.”

I already said many times, smart guy, smart player, very clean with the bal

Roberto De Zerbi on Sandro Tonali

Tonali was in high demand this summer, with Arsenal and Manchester City said to be interested, and De Zerbi, who played an integral role in convincing Tonali to sign, says Spurs fought off serious competition for his signature.

“He received two big offers for two big teams in the Premier League. It’s not correct to say their clubs but two big clubs fought with us to bring him and he wanted to come here.

“I heard the fans were very happy for Sandro’s signing.

“We have to accept, like the the players who we sold, there are players who are sold with a big price and we brought a player with a big, big price.

“Tonali is still 26. He is not 30. If you analyse the transfer market in Premier League, you can see players of 30 years paid around the price of Sandro.

“So what is the answer? I don’t know, but I think the value of Tonali in this transfer market, in this country, in this league, now in 2026 is the price of one of the best midfielders in the Premier League.

Sandro Tonali left Newcastle for Tottenham in the summer

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In a summer that saw Elliot Anderson join City for £113million and 18-year-old Ayyoub Bouaddi command more than £86m after less than 100 senior appearances, De Zerbi believes Spurs got good value in a “crazy” market.

“You want to speak about Tottenham, or do you want to speak about the big clubs in the Premier League?

“Because we can increase the discussion. The discussion is the transfer market price in Premier League are right or not?

“I think the answer is in Premier League it’s a different transfer market. The value of the players in the Premier League are totally different than in the other markets in Europe.”