Arsenal ‘deadly serious’ on Man Utd hijack; Arteta stance on £100m star reveals ‘more desperate’ verdict | OneFootball

According to reports, Arsenal are ‘deadly serious’ about signing Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali ahead of Manchester United.

Tonali has emerged as one of the best midfielders in the Premier League, and it looks increasingly likely that he will leave Newcastle this summer.

Newcastle may struggle to keep Tonali without Champions League football, and it has been clear in recent months that his agent is angling for a transfer.

This initially came as Arsenal were offered the chance to sign Tonali during this year’s winter transfer window, though the move was never likely at the time due to the finances at play and Newcastle being unwilling to sanction his exit in the middle of the season.

In recent weeks, Man Utd and Man City have joined Arsenal in the race to sign Tonali and a move to Manchester has seemed more likely as they prioritise new midfielders this summer.

However, a report from our colleagues at TEAMtalk insists Arsenal remain ‘deadly serious’ about Tonali and this is mainly because head coach Mikel Arteta is pushing for this £100m transfer.

The report adds:

Fabrizio Romano, meanwhile, also pointed out on Monday that Arsenal remain “interested” in signing Tonali, who is “very high” on Man Utd’s shortlist.

“One of the names very high on [Manchester United’s] shortlist is Sandro Tonali,” Romano said on his YouTube channel.

“Tonali has been excellent recently, scoring for Italy against Northern Ireland and performing very well for Newcastle United. Newcastle also expect potential movement around him this summer.

“It is important to note that Manchester United have already made contact with Tonali’s camp to be informed about his situation. There is still no agreement, no negotiation stage yet, but the interest is real and consistent.

“Tonali appreciates the idea of returning to a bigger European stage if all parties align, so this one will be worth keeping an eye on.

“There is also interest from Arsenal, confirmed, but again nothing advanced there either. For Italian clubs, including Juventus, the deal would be financially almost impossible.

“So as of today, United like Tonali, early contact made, and the midfielder is aware of their interest. It is still early, but expect this to heat up later in the window.”