Earlier this week we reported on Sandro Tonali as part of Tottenham's wider rebuild. Now the story has shifted again. Spurs are preparing a fresh bid worth around £100million after an opening proposal closer to £75million was rebuffed, while Newcastle continue to hold to their valuation. Tonali is also said to be open to the move if the clubs can agree terms.
Tottenham's next offer
The first offer tells you where this is going. Tottenham's opening proposal, worth closer to £75million, fell short of Newcastle's asking price, and the Magpies are understood to want around £100million before they even start to soften their stance. Spurs are now ready to test that position again with a bid of about £100million.
That is expensive, but it is also in keeping with how seriously Tottenham view the rebuild. Spurs could recruit as many as three midfielders before the window closes, which makes Tonali the headline target rather than the only one. Mateus Fernandes has been described as a backup option, so this is a wider midfield reset as much as a single move.
Tonali's recent level helps explain why Tottenham are willing to keep pushing. Across his last 10 matches, he has averaged 6.91, with a recent peak rating of 7.9 in that run. That is a solid sample, not a brief spike, and it is the kind of form that keeps elite clubs interested even when the fee gets awkward.
Tonali's stance and the size of the rebuild
The player side of the story is not a problem for Spurs. Sky Sports News have reported that Tonali is ready to sign for Tottenham if the two clubs can agree a transfer, and Gianluca Di Marzio has also said he has given his word to Roberto De Zerbi and wants to honour it. Those two reports do not mean the deal is done, but they do suggest Tottenham are not trying to sell him on the project from scratch.
The broader context is Tottenham's season, which ended with them 17th in the Premier League and on 41 points from 38 games. That kind of finish is why the club are being forced into a major midfield overhaul rather than a small tweak. Tonali sits at the top of that plan, but Spurs are clearly building out the rest of the shortlist too.
The next phase is straightforward enough: Tottenham will try to find out whether Newcastle's £100million line holds once a matching bid is in front of them. If it does, Spurs still have other midfield targets to work through, and the Tonali chase becomes one part of a much bigger summer.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 5 outlets. How we work →