Will Man Utd rival Arsenal for Sandro Tonali? He would ‘complement’ Red Devil ‘really nicely’ | OneFootball

Will Manchester United rival Arsenal for the signing of Sandro Tonali from Newcastle in the summer?

Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg caused a stir on deadline day when he claimed Arsenal had made an approach to sign the Italy international from the Magpies.

Another journalist Ben Jacobs then took to X to write: ‘Understand Arsenal haven’t made contact for Sandro Tonali and Newcastle’s position is the midfielder is not for sale.’

Before David Ornstein of The Athletic insisted that Tonali had been ‘offered to Arsenal’ by the Newcastle star’s agent with ‘no contact’ made with the Geordies over a potential transfer.

But Tonali’s agent, Giuseppe Riso, claimed that he hadn’t spoken to Arsenal about a potential move and insisted that the Newcastle star’s future is something to talk about more in March.

Riso told Sky Sport in Italy: “Newcastle won’t let Sandro leave in January. We haven’t spoken to Arsenal about this opportunity. Juventus? This isn’t the time to talk about it.”

The agent added: “It’s not even being discussed now. We will see around March about Sandro’s valuation but only if Newcastle decide to open doors. He’s completely focused on Newcastle’s season now, it’s a nonsense topic.”

And now Romano has revealed that Arsenal are still interested in signing the 25-year-old and that he expects Tonali and Newcastle to hold talks over his future between February and April.

Romano said on his YouTube channel: “There has been a lot of confusion around Sandro Tonali, but his agent, Giuseppe Rizzo, was very clear in the last 24 hours that the player was not offered to Arsenal.

“It would have been completely unrealistic to try to sign a player of Tonali’s level in the final 24 hours of the market, especially considering how long similar deals normally take.

“For the summer, however, Tonali is a name to watch. Arsenal remain interested, and there is also strong interest from Juventus and other top clubs in England.

“The next key step will be discussions with Newcastle United between February and April, because any decision will depend on the club’s position and future plans.”

Former Premier League full-back Danny Simpson, who began his career at Manchester United and played a key role for Leicester when they won the title in 2015/16, says his boyhood club should be going after Tonali, who he believes would dovetail “really nicely” with Kobbie Mainoo in the Red Devils’ midfield.

“I think Tonali would work really well in that United midfield,” Simpson told Metro via Meta Spins Casino.

“I think he would complement Kobbie Mainoo really nicely, because he gets about the pitch so well.

“Obviously, he’s been a top player for Newcastle. He’s good on the ball, he’s strong, he’s physical, he’d be a brilliant player in there in many regards.

“Also, he’s the type of player that I think could wear a Man Utd shirt. It’s not easy, that, and I feel like he could wear it with the pressure and deal with it.