Newcastle’s Tonali receives glowing character reference from Italy colleagues | OneFootball

Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali was singled out for individual praise by both his teammate Samuele Ricci and his national team head coach Luciano Spalletti during Sunday’s pre-match press conferences.

The former Milan and Brescia midfielder returned to the national team set-up for the first time in close to a year this week, following his return to competitive action at club level in August.

He started in 3-1 victory over France at the Parc des Princes on Friday night, and received plenty of praise from Italian media outlets after full-time. The press could not unanimously agree on a man-of-the-match, but Tonali’s ratings were among the best, along with Federico Dimarco, Samuele Ricci and Riccardo Calafiori.

Tonali’s brightest moment on Friday came in the build-up to Dimarco’s stunning equaliser, providing a glorious flick over the top for the wing-back to latch onto.

What Spalletti and Ricci said about Tonali

Ricci, who was on for his full senior debut, said that playing alongside Tonali makes the job easier for everybody else in midfield. The Newcastle man is among the best in the world at what he does, Ricci says.

“He’s always been a strong player, one of the most complete midfielders in the world and playing with him in the middle of the park makes everyone’s work easier.”

Spalletti added that the players could not wait to welcome their friend back to the international fold. The coach also feels like Tonali has grown a lot on a personal level over the last year.

“We were ready to welcome him with open arms. He’s an important player for us given his qualities,” Spalletti said.

“Now that he’s here, we’ve seen a new Tonali, one that’s eager to show his quality as a footballer, a Tonali who has the ability to help everyone on the pitch because he knows how to do everything.

“His teammates love him so much, having him back in the changing room was a source of happiness for the other guys, too.”