Newcastle United remain without their big summer signing.
Only a few games into his Newcastle career, Sandro Tonali was banned from football until August due to breaking betting rules.
It had been a strange few opening weeks for the Italian until that point.
Hailed for a remarkable debut against Aston Villa, there were then questions as to whether or not Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes could operate in the same midfield after a difficult run for the team.
Amid all that was the infamous trip to Wetherspoons as social media went ablaze following images for the former AC Milan star in the budget-friendly establishment, presumably booked by mistake.
Now limited to only training, teammate Dan Burn has been speaking about the player.
Sandro Tonali: Dan Burn shares how much Newcastle star’s English has improved
Indeed, the Newcastle defender was speaking on the Ben Foster Cycling GK show (via TikTok) about how Tonali is settling in.
“When he first came, his English wasn’t great,” he said.
“You want to involve him in everything but it’s quite hard because you can’t speak.
“Whereas like now his English is unbelievable.”
Sandro Tonali: Pressure on Newcastle star upon his return
The pressure has to be on Tonali when he returns.
Newcastle spent a lot of money on a player they have not been able to use, a situation compounded by the injury crisis the club have been dealing with.
With that in mind, the Italian will need to hit the ground running when he is available once more. There were certainly promising flashes prior to his ban but he will have to keep convincing after such a big blow for the club.
It’s promising to hear he’s getting to grips with the language, something that will surely help him even further.
The sooner Tonali is back, the better.
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