Sandro Tonali explains Tottenham transfer decision despite strong Manchester City interest | OneFootball

Sandro Tonali has revealed he knew Tottenham was his next club within minutes of speaking to them, offering his most detailed public account yet of a decision that saw him choose Spurs over Manchester City.

The 26-year-old left Newcastle United this summer in a move that Manchester City had been closely monitoring, with director of football Hugo Viana among those understood to have assessed the Italy international as a potential addition to the midfield rebuild being overseen at the Etihad Stadium under Enzo Maresca.

City ultimately did not progress to a formal offer, and Tonali’s account of the conversations that defined his decision explains why – with the outcome determined not by financial terms but by the quality of a meeting that left the midfielder certain of his destination before it had barely begun.

Tonali: I understood after 10, 15 minutes that Tottenham would be my next team

Speaking to Mail Sport’s Kieran Gill, Tonali described the sequence of events that led him from Newcastle to north London, beginning with a shared decision with his wife to pursue a fresh start.

“England was our solution and we found the best solution in England for me, for my career, for my football, for my happiness, for my family,” said Tonali. “I spoke with two teams. I understood after 10, 15 minutes that Tottenham would be my next team.”

On the personal dimension of the decision, he added: “After the last season, I spoke with my wife. We wanted to change our life. Not just for the city. We wanted to change everything. We spoke with two clubs.

“When we spoke with Tottenham, we decided to sign for this team. They spoke with 100 per cent passion, 100 per cent seriousness. For this city, for my life outside of football, for my family, OK, it’s like 10 per cent. Roberto and the director made the difference to the deal.

Tonali then described the moment that confirmed the decision in his own mind, and the conversation that followed with his wife.

“I spoke after two minutes with my wife and my family and I said, ‘Probably it will be one of my best decisions of my career’. She told me, ‘You have 100 per cent the control over this decision’. I wanted to speak with her because it’s our life,” the midfielder said.

What does Tonali’s account mean for Manchester City’s midfield search?

For City, the loss of a player they were tracking represents one of the more significant misses of the summer window, though the pursuit of multiple midfield targets simultaneously means Viana’s plans have not been derailed by Tonali’s decision to join a domestic rival.

The £116 million signing of Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest addressed the most urgent need in City’s midfield, and the ongoing pursuit of Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille – with CEO Ferran Soriano understood to have held a personal meeting with Lille president Olivier Létang to advance talks – underlines that the club’s ambitions in that area of the pitch have not diminished despite missing out on the Italian.

Tonali’s interview is nonetheless a useful reminder that the transfer market is not decided by prestige alone, and that a conversation held with the right combination of passion and clarity can be the decisive factor in where a 26-year-old midfielder chooses to commit the next six years of his career.