Sandro Tonali hands Manchester City transfer blow as Newcastle exit preference revealed | OneFootball

Newcastle United and Italy midfielder Sandro Tonali is a transfer target for Manchester City for the upcoming summer transfer window, as per a new report.

City are eyeing a major midfield addition ahead of the 2026-27 season as they prepare for an increasingly likely departure for club captain Bernardo Silva, who contract will expire in June.

The Blues revamped their midfield department upon the appointment of Hugo Viana as director of football last summer, with Rayan Cherki, Tijjani Reijnders and Sverre Nypan coming in as the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and James McAtee exited.

Nico Gonzalez has exceeded expectations when filling in at number six for Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, who has endured a gruelling 18 months with injury and is slowly but surely returning to his best as he gets more minutes in the locker.

Having made significant investment to overhaul their squad since January 2025, Manchester City are planning for another important transfer window this summer as they build a title-winning side for the seasons to come as a cloud of uncertainty looms over Pep Guardiola’s future in the managerial hot-seat.

Executives at the Etihad Stadium are believed to be prioritising the signing of a world-class midfielder in the summer, with Nottingham Forest and England star Elliot Anderson of great interest following his rise as one of the best midfielders in Europe in recent seasons.

Rodri has less than 18 months left on his current deal at Manchester City and while an extension is a matter of when and not if, club bosses will be closely monitoring the 29-year-old Spaniard’s performances in the remainder of the season.

City are also understood to be great admirers of Newcastle United and Italy midfielder Sandro Tonali, who was strongly linked with a deadline day January move to Arsenal and is firmly expected to leave the Magpies at the end of the season.

According to the information of talkSPORT, Tonali would be keen on a return to Italy amid an expectation that the central midfielder will be in the middle of a summer transfer window war among some of Europe’s biggest clubs.

From within the Premier League, the report names all of Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City as teams monitoring Tonali’s availability leading up to the year’s biggest market.

As for clubs in Tonali’s home nation, it is pointed out that Juventus are also interested in the 25-year-old, with the former AC Milan star reportedly open to an emotional return to the Italian top-flight.

However, Newcastle United are unsurprisingly unwilling to sanction a sale at any sort of cut price, and the latest report suggests that the Magpies value Tonali between £80 million and £100 million.