Newcastle United assistant boss Jason Tindall believes that the club made a very special signing last summer.
The Magpies made Sandro Tonali their second most expensive signing ever ahead of the 2023/24 season, bringing in the Italian midfielder for £55million.
There was a huge amount of excitement following Tonali’s arrival, and he immediately lived up to the hype with a stupendous debut against Aston Villa.
But it has been a different story since October 26th. After being investigated by the Italian Football Federation, it was announced that Tonali would be banned for 10 months for betting.
During his suspension, the 23-year-old is still allowed to train with his Toon teammates, while he continues to feel the love from the supporters. They sang about him relentlessly on Tuesday night at Villa Park, and Jason Tindall believes that the Italy international will ‘take a lot of confidence’ from the support he continues to get.
Jason Tindall says Sandro Tonali is a top player
Ahead of Newcastle’s game against Luton, Tindall spoke to the media and was asked about the support that Tonali has been getting.
“Sandro is a great lad,” he said.
“He trains really hard every single day and he’s going to be a really really top player for this football club moving forward.
“So to see the fans show him that love during a difficult time for him is really important and I’m sure he’ll take a lot of confidence and love from that.
“We’ve got quite a few months until Sandro can actually play a competitive game. He’s training well every single day. We’re doing work with him to make sure that when he does come into the team that he’s ready and can show all the Newcastle fans what a top player he is.”
Tonali will have even more motivation to shine for Newcastle
It is going to be really special when Tonali is allowed to play again next season. He has received so much love from the Toon Army during this difficult period, as he continues to serve his suspension for betting.
But he is working hard behind the scenes, while his English has also improved massively according to defender Dan Burn. That was evident in a video the club recently put up on their YouTube channel that showed Tonali playing darts with some other members of the squad.
As Tindall says, he is going to be a special player for Newcastle United. He was a star at AC Milan, and we saw glimpses of his talent at the start of the season.
He just needed to settle in and get up to speed, while he will now have even more motivation for when he returns at the beginning of next season.
Newcastle fans will welcome him back with open arms, and by then he will probably have even more chants dedicated to him.
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