As the chant goes our ‘Midfield Maestro from Milano’ Sandro Tonali has come into sharp focus with an eye-catching run of performances showing the entirety of English football what he can do, including almost single handedly dragging his team to a cup semi-final.
In that Brentford cup game, the Italian scored two goals, played more passes (60) than any other player on the pitch (with an impressive 93% accuracy), made the most successful tackles (4) and took possession of the ball more than any of his teammates. It sums up his performances of late that he was topping the charts in so many on and off-ball metrics.
Eddie Howe appreciated Sandro’s comparisons to Andrea Pirlo in his pre-Villa press conference, and the pairs obviously similar technical qualities makes it an easy comparison to make but the player the ‘new Andrea Pirlo’ actually appears most similar too is Pirlo’s contemporary – Gennaro Gattuso.
Sure, Gattuso is not as ‘sexy’ a name as Pirlo but Tonali’s highly impressive, and often unnoticed physicality, his pace, his strength, as well as his ability to control a game, mean that he is readymade for the Premier League.
Tonali is so sharp with everything he does on the pitch (first touch, passing, reading of danger and recovery runs). Add in that he is always looking to play passes forward to progress the play and, perhaps, he is more-like the perfect blend of Pirlo and Gattuso.
The lad is already a winner too having won one of Europe’s top five leagues’ titles in the Scudetto – a mentality that will be badly needed in Black and White when the time comes as it is lacking with other members of the squad, especially the starting eleven.
Emerging from a 10-month ban
Speaking to Sky Sports following the Brentford game Tonali spoke about his time out in the dark with the 10-month ban:
‘The first month was difficult, but I found a great team and great people off the pitch. The low times were a little bit difficult but from January to August, the time [felt] a little bit quicker. I was happy, I am happy now.’
Following on from his ‘heart’ celebration in front of the Leazes End, the Italian has clearly appreciated and needed/used the unconditional support of the fanbase (and teammates and staff too) to get him through a dark time in his footballing career.
It may have taken longer than we wanted, and for some, a little more Eddie Howe midfield tinkering than they would’ve liked but watching Tonali in the flesh week-in week-out, is fast becoming a real pleasure for United fans. Personally, he reminds me of Yohan Cabaye technically, only quicker.
The perfect response to media reports
Given the maelstrom of news and rumours that seem to have consistently surrounded him since he signed for Newcastle, for £55million in 2023, you could have forgiven Tonali for being off the pace, or still being unable to speak English, or agitating for a move back home. Instead, the 24-year-old has established himself as one of the first names on the team sheet and has cultivated a deep connection with the fans.
Yet, in a week in which the Italian has bossed the midfield against Leicester City and Ipswich Town and scored a brace to secure United’s passage to the semi-finals of the League Cup, that maelstrom shows no sign of dying down. AC Milan CEO, Giorgio Furlani, spoke in Italy this week about how he ‘received death threats when I sold Tonali, one of our best players.’ He added:
“I was aware of the volatility that comes from the fact that the media and fans talk about our club [Milan], but I understood that there’s no way to escape what they say on TV or write in the newspapers.
“It really affects you on the bad days. It’s in those moments that I thought: ‘Okay, these are things they don’t teach you at Harvard Business School’.’
Tonali remains a firm favourite with not only Milan supporters, but the entire Italian football fraternity and he continues to be linked with Juventus as the Italian press reaffirm their agendas as they’ve been salty about the sale of one of their premier starlets since day one.
Ultimately, Tonali has started to do his talking on the pitch and did so again with a classy display against Aston Villa on Boxing Day, dominating the midfield battle against the same club he scored his first Premier League goals against last season.
