Tottenham are pressing ahead for Sandro Tonali, with reports saying they have already made an official offer and are now preparing a bid worth around £100million after an earlier proposal was rejected by Newcastle. Newcastle's stance is simple enough: they value him at a premium price and have no immediate desire to sell.

Newcastle's resistance

Graeme Bailey of TEAMtalk put it bluntly: "As it stands, Tonali does look like getting his wish, but only if Tottenham, or whoever else, matches Newcastle's valuation." He added that Newcastle are "not happy" and that "nobody is going to leave the club without their say-so."

That is the part Tottenham have to test now. The club finished 17th in the Premier League, so a serious midfield upgrade is not hard to understand. Newcastle finished 12th, which makes the idea of selling one of their key midfielders look awkward from their side, especially after a rejection already forced the price higher.

The Tonali case on football terms

Tonali's form gives Spurs a reason to keep pushing. His recent five-game Premier League average rating is 6.9, with a latest 6.7 in Newcastle's 3-1 win over West Ham on 2026-05-17. That is not the profile of a player drifting through the spring.

The bigger issue is that the market is not settled. One report has Spurs moving towards a £100million offer, while another says Newcastle had already turned away a £75m bid. Those versions do not point in the same direction, but they do show the same thing, Tottenham have gone from watching to pressing, and Newcastle are not ready to blink.

There is also the wider Newcastle backdrop. Graeme Bailey said Bruno Guimaraes is not likely to commit himself to a new deal if he feels he is staying to oversee a rebuild, and TEAMtalk says he has two years left on his current contract. Arsenal are also mentioned as having interest, which only adds to the pressure around St James' Park.

For now, Tonali is the cleaner target for Spurs to chase and Newcastle to defend. The next move should come through the fee, because that is where this story is already being decided.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 4 outlets. How we work →