Newcastle must pay club record fee to sign AC Milan’s ‘complete’ 23-year-old

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Newcastle United are looking to sign Sandro Tonali from AC Milan, but it appears that the Magpies are going to have to raise their offer.

It emerged on Tuesday night that Newcastle had launched a bid for the 23-year-old, with Eddie Howe’s tabling an offer of £43million (€50million) for the midfielder.

News of the bid has excited Toon fans, who are eager to see an elite talent like Tonali arrive at St James’ Park. There was the same kind of excitement when interest in Nicolo Barella emerged, but it looks like he is going to be too expensive.

The hope will be that the same does not go for Tonali, but a new report from the Chronicle suggests that the Toon owners are going to have to dig a little deeper into their pockets.

Newcastle must raise Sandro Tonali offer

According to the Chronicle, AC Milan want the bidding for Tonali to start at £73million (€85million). That is £30million more than what the Magpies have offered.

That is a huge amount, and casts doubt over whether or not Newcastle will be able to bring the ‘complete‘ Italy international to St James’ Park.

Hopefully a compromise can be reached, as Tonali is the type of midfield talent who could really take Howe’s side to an even greater level – if that is even possible!

But the power is with AC Milan, who will reportedly not let Tonali go unless he expresses a desire to leave. He has a contract at the San Siro until 2027, which also strengthens the Serie A side’s position.

A fee of £73million would make Tonali Newcastle’s record signing, eclipsing the £63million spent on Alexander Isak last summer. It looks like he is going to be worth that figure in the coming years, having enjoyed a stellar debut year on Tyneside.

The hope would be that Tonali could do the same, and he is of the age that he could be a Toon mainstay for the next 10 years. In that respect, he would be well worth the major investment in the long run.

But Newcastle have other ambitions this summer, and need to improve elsewhere ahead of competing in the Champions League. It is a balancing act for Howe, as he looks to get the most out of his transfer budget while adding elite players to his already impressive squad.