Exclusive: Looming Tonali ban sees Newcastle shortlist Man City, Man Utd, Chelsea midfielders to fill void
Newcastle target Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos to replace Sandro Tonali
Newcastle are prepared to sign a new central midfielder in January as a result of the ongoing Sandro Tonali saga, TEAMtalk understands.
The midfielder faces a lengthy ban from football after admitting betting on AC Milan matches while playing for the club and the prospect of such is a nightmare for Newcastle, who unveiled him as a £55million star signing in July.
Eddie Howe described him as an “exceptional talent” at the time with the “mentality, physicality and technical attributes to be a great fit for us”.
Yet three and a half months on from that moment, Newcastle are reeling from the fact he could be unavailable for the foreseeable future.
The club are making no comment on the situation at present but TEAMtalk sources have indicated that there would be little hesitation in reinforcing the squad depth in January to make up for any absence.
As such, there are already targets identified within the Premier League. Kalvin Phillips of Manchester City is expected to become a prime candidate for them.
Explorations could also be made around Manchester United’s Scott McTominay and even Andrey Santos, currently struggling for game time on loan at Nottingham Forest from Chelsea.
Newcastle ramp up Phillips interest amid Tonali saga
With the transfer window still over two months away, there is time for Newcastle to further weigh up all their options – especially as they wait for an exact time frame over any Tonali suspension.
McTominay is aiming to play his way back into Erik ten Hag’s plans and seems a tough get, while Santos is trying to turn around his situation at Forest and Chelsea still have plans for him in the longer term.
Newcastle looked at signing Santos before Chelsea clinched his signature – and the prospect of getting him will depend on how things pan out over the coming weeks.
It is a more complex situation with Santos, due to the fact Newcastle already have Lewis Hall on loan from Chelsea and can not take more than one from the same club at one time.
It could be that Hall’s deal is turned into a permanent one earlier than planned, but it would seem difficult as that is a situation they would prefer to avoid.
Sources suggest there is also a possibility that PIF will take advantage of their ownership of players in the Saudi Pro League to bring someone in short term.
But while Newcastle start to put the feelers out and whittle down the best options, Phillips currently seems one most likely. He intends to wait until December before deciding whether he definitely needs to pursue a move away from Manchester City.
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