Deal approved: Potential Sandro Tonali replacement says yes to Newcastle United transfer
Newcastle United may reportedly already have a replacement for Sandro Tonali in the bag as Roma midfielder Lorenzo Pellegrini has said yes to a summer transfer.
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The 29-year-old is set to become a free agent at the end of this season when his contract with Roma expires, and it seems he’s already agreed to join Newcastle as a free agent, according to Calciomercato.
The report states that Pellegrini’s talks over a new deal with Roma recently stalled, and that looks like being good news for Newcastle as they face potentially having to replace Tonali.
Arsenal have been linked with Tonali by the Athletic, so it could be that Newcastle will struggle to keep hold of the Italy international after his superb form during his time at St James’ Park.
Newcastle looking for Sandro Tonali replacements
It will be interesting to see if this Pellegrini story proves accurate, as it’s come slightly out of the blue while other names have been linked with Newcastle.
Our information recently was that the Magpies were looking at Lyon’s Tyler Morton for that midfield role, but it also wouldn’t be surprising if they had a few candidates in mind.
They will also surely be doing all they can to keep hold of an influential player like Tonali, who would not be easy to replace.
How important is Tonali for Newcastle?
As the data below shows, Tonali doesn’t look quite as well-rounded as Arsenal’s other midfielders Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi, though he has better stats for winning possession.
One imagines Tonali could improve in those other areas with a move to a bigger club, but his strong work to win the ball back makes him a key part of Eddie Howe’s side.
Still, it would perhaps be a bit of a stretch to say he’s irreplaceable, and players like Pellegrini and Morton could probably prove useful signings for Newcastle even if they did lose Tonali.
The post Deal approved: Potential Sandro Tonali replacement says yes to Newcastle United transfer appeared first on CaughtOffside.