Over the past few days, the general consensus (based on recent reports) was that Sandro Tonali would play as a deep-lying ‘No 6’ for Newcastle, giving Bruno Guimaraes more license to get forward.
However, in an in-depth piece this morning, The Athletic’s Jacob Whitehead insists that the Italian will be used as a No 8 who plays either side of the Brazilian once he completes a big-money move from AC Milan.
Interestingly, Tonali played on the right side of a midfield three in Italy’s U21 European Championships defeat to France last night. He’s also operated as a left-sided No 8 for Milan, starring in this role – in between left-back Theo Hernandez and left winger Rafael Leao – on several occasions over the 2022/23 season. Many feel you lose his ability to drive forward with the ball if he isn’t given the freedom to get forward, so this could make sense.
Tonali’s versatility enables him to play in all three midfield roles, but The Athletic report that he’s seen as a No 8 who can instigate the press; not sit deep as a holding midfielder.
Here’s a snippet from Whitehead’s piece on the Italian, explaining how Eddie Howe plans to use the 23-year-old talent:
‘He is not a lone No 6. If Newcastle get him, this will not be the signing to free Bruno Guimaraes to play further forward, but rather he is seen by Newcastle as a No 8, capable of playing either side of the Brazilian.
‘Tonali is a midfielder who is good at defending, but not a defensive midfielder. At Milan, coach Stefano Pioli named him alongside Ismael Bennacer in a 4-2-3-1 – a system that saw the club win the Scudetto in 2021-22 and reach the Champions League semi-finals.
“Of the two, Algeria international Bennacer generally sat deeper to break up play and was usually also responsible for ball progression and triggering attacks. Tonali had a different role — triggering the press.
“Eddie Howe has named power and physicality as the key attributes in signings this summer. With a system that relies on his No 8s forcing high turnovers, it is not difficult to envisage the Italian fulfilling Joelinton or Sean Longstaff’s roles.”
