Newcastle United are heading into the final hours of this summer’s transfer window with an awful lot still to do.
Eddie Howe‘s mood can only be imagined as the Newcastle manager will now be planning for the upcoming game against Tottenham Hotspur.
The fixture on Tyneside against the north London club is one which has favoured the Toon over recent seasons with Newcastle having won both of the last two meetings emphatically.
However, Newcastle have not had the same joy in the transfer window with the Magpies having failed to secure themselves a major addition so far.
But there is going to be one player in Sandro Tonali who is going to be viewed as a new signing by Newcastle this season.
The Italian midfielder is set to return from his lengthy ban for the game against Spurs on the weekend and it seems his presence at the club has gone down well with his teammates.
What Sandro Tonali’s Newcastle teammate has said about him
Tonali has now had around a year to work on himself behind the scenes after being handed the whopping ban from football.
Having arrived on the back of a big money deal from AC Milan, Tonali is now going to have to prove his worth at Newcastle following a turbulent past year.
But it seems the midfielder has been working well away from the pitch to endear himself among his Newcastle teammates.
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Speaking to The Telegraph, one of his Newcastle teammates has provided an insight on how the Italian has been interacting behind the scenes with the English players.
“Sandro is a personality who can mix with a lot of people in the squad, he interacts with everyone and likes the English lads too who have taken a shine to him,” the unnamed player said.
“Like all foreign players they are obsessed with trying to get him to speak like a Geordie.
“Sandro is incredibly kind and very generous. He has done a few things for the lads that have really gone down well with the group.
“He’s a good guy, quite quiet and calm around the place, but he’s made himself popular. He is one of those guys who will do something for you without being asked. He has a huge heart. We really like him.”
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Having been absent for such a long time, Tonali cannot be match fit despite all of the training which has gone on in the background.
Of course, it is not like the Italian is returning from a lengthy injury, but he has not played a competitive game for around a year now.
Tonali has featured in behind closed doors friendlies since but the pace of a Premier League game could well take him some time to adapt to.
It has to be remembered he did only play eight times in the English top flight before being handed the ban so he is still fairly new to the Premier League.
And – despite Tottenham’s recent form on Tyneside – Newcastle are coming up against one of the Premier League’s top sides, so perhaps takes a conservative approach to reintroducing Tonali at his first opportunity.
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