We were blindsided yesterday by news that Sandro Tonali’s agent had reportedly offered the midfielder’s services to Arsenal on deadline day, a claim the club and then the agent himself promptly denied.
Losing one of our star players ahead of such a crucial period would have been the last thing Howe would have wanted, and he’s now addressed speculation surrounding the 25-year-old’s future.
Thankfully, the boss is not concerned, also sharing the positive conversations he’s had with the man himself while rumours of a potential exit were rife on Monday.
Asked if he was worried that the deadline day rumours could be the start of a 2026 saga to unsettle the Italian, Howe said:
“I don’t think so…but lots of things happen without my knowledge. As far as I’m aware we have an outstanding person and player and he seems really happy within himself with a great relationship with me and his teammates. So that would surprise me.
“But as one of our best players he’s always going to be attracting glances — that’s the reality of football. All encompassed I don’t see an issue but I’m not in control of everything.”
Howe then revealed details of his chat with the man himself on deadline day, insisting that Tonali is happy, committed and only focused on our cup semi-final against Man City:
“Sandro is absolutely fine, I had a discussion with him yesterday. He’s focused on the here and the now, and playing for us.
“Talking to him yesterday his only focus was a Man City and trying to win that game. He’s happy and committed. There’s absolutely no issue with Sandro himself.
“I find it difficult to talk about things that I don’t know too much about. I can only talk about Sandro as the person and the player, and his mindset. Having discussed things with him yesterday, he’s absolutely fine.”
Howe did accept that our best players are bound to attract some level of interest from top clubs, but he’s doubled down on our plan to keep the squad together:
“Our best players will always be attracting glances from other clubs, that is just the reality of football.
“We want to keep the group together, keep being progressive, and, of course, Sandro plays a part in that.
“All encompassed I don’t see an issue but I am not in control of everything.”
As things stand, you would expect Tonali to feature on Wednesday night as he’s one of the very few midfield options Howe can call upon, with Bruno Guimaraes and Lewis Miley both set to miss out.
Tonali seems pretty unfazed by the Arsenal noise. If he’s telling Howe he’s focused, I’m happy to take that at face value.
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