Shay Given shares what has surprised him about Sandro Tonali after meeting him

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Newcastle United legend Shay Given is already impressed with Sandro Tonali, but it has nothing to do with his footballing ability.

Given is out in America with the Magpies as a club ambassador, with Eddie Howe‘s side taking part in the Premier League Summer Series.

Newcastle have drawn both of their games so far, with Miguel Almiron’s emotional goal making it 1-1 against Chelsea on Wednesday night.

Tonali has started against Aston Villa and Chelsea, but failed to hit the heights of his debut at Ibrox earlier this month.

It might take the 23-year-old some time to settle, and one issue he has is not being able to speak English. However, Given already believes that Tonali is making great strides after meeting up and speaking with the £55million man.

Shay Given shares details of his conversation with Sandro Tonali

Given has spoke to the Athletic about Tonali, and shared details of an interaction with the summer signing – although it does sound a bit like the start to a joke. ‘An Englishman, an Irishman and an Italian walk into a restaurant…’.

“I had a bit of lunch with Sandro and Tripps and a few others yesterday and just asked him about his English,” he said.

“I’m not saying it was brilliant, but I was surprised with how good it was; I’m not sure how proficient my Italian would be after a couple of weeks over there.

“He’s having a couple of lessons here but he told me that once he gets back home to Tyneside it’ll be lessons every day.

“He strikes me as a very intelligent guy. He’s certainly a very intelligent footballer.”

Tonali putting the effort in off the pitch

Howe recently noted how much Tonali’s English had improved since their first meeting, and now Given has expressed how surprised he is by the midfielder’s progress.

It is great to hear that he is still having lessons out in America. It looks like a very busy and intense trip, but Tonali is still finding time to learn another language.

And he plans to step up his progress when he returns to England next week. Newcastle’s final match in America is on Friday, when Howe’s side face Brighton in New Jersey.

Knowing that Tonali is going the extra mile to learn English is really encouraging. The language barrier must make settling in even harder, but that is something he is looking to overcome.

Given is surprised by how well Tonali is going, so hopefully it isn’t long before he is speaking fluent Geordie!