With Sandro Tonali set to sign on the dotted line in the coming days, The Telegraph have received quotes from a senior source at Newcastle United after striking a deal with AC Milan.
The piece reveals that a deal in the region of £52m has been agreed – despite the Italian press suggesting we’d spend in excess of £65m on the midfielder.
Speaking directly to The Telegraph, an unnamed source at St James’ Park has spoken out on the deal, explaining why Newcastle are delighted to have snapped up the 23-year-old after ‘fearing’ he was out of reach just last month. See their comments below:
“He is a player we did not think in May that would come, he was a player we feared was out of reach to us, but we’ve managed to get one of the best young midfield players in Europe who we believe will be just as good as Declan Rice over the next few years.”
That final line is hugely exciting and explains why the club believe they’ve pulled off a superb deal at £52m. If Tonali can go on to be ‘just as good’ as Declan Rice – who is almost 18 months his senior – we have played a blinder, especially when he cost half the price.
