Tottenham are interested in a move for Sandro Tonali alongside rivals Arsenal but their focus now appears elsewhere
Arsenal have no intention of paying the lofty wage demands of Tottenham transfer target Sandro Tonali. The two north London clubs have been linked with a move for the Newcastle United midfielder but Spurs look to have the upper-hand given their willingness to offer him a lucrative contract.
The Lilywhites have seen two offers rebuffed by Newcastle, who want in the region of £100million to sell, but Roberto De Zerbi is still pushing to sign his fellow Italian.
West Ham United’s Mateus Fernandes, who is also wanted by Manchester United, is another firm midfield target for Tottenham. But Tonali appears the priority with their rivals instead focused on his teammate Bruno Guimaraes.
A verbal offer for the Brazil international was immediately rebuffed but it may have become clear why they opted to pursue Guimaraes instead.
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According to football.london‘s sister-title, the Chronicle, Tonali’s £275,000 per-week salary was not entertained by the Gunners, with the same response given to a 10% agent cut of what would be an astronomical fee.
Despite agreeing to sign Elliot Anderson for £116million, Manchester City could likely afford that and have kept tabs on Tonali during their pursuit of the Nottingham Forest star.
To avoid losing out on both Tonali and Fernandes to the two Manchester clubs, Spurs have attempted to be proactive with four new signings this summer proving that.
Marcos Senesi, Andy Robertson and most-recently Martin Dubravka have all joined as free agents, while £52million was spent to sign Jan Paul van Hecke from De Zerbi’s former club Brighton.
Having complied with profit and sustainability rules comfortably for several years, Tottenham are in a position to spend big and the available budget has only increased following the £100million injected into the club by the Lewis Family.
football.london understands that more money will be pumped into the club and it is purely investment rather than raising debt.
Further funds could be raised through player sales with Lucas Bergvall, Guglielmo Vicario and Pape Matar Sarr among those seemingly set for departures.
Cristian Romero is another who could be moved on following the arrival of two new centre-backs. Luka Vuskovic is being targeted by Brighton with a number of bids lodged, all of which have been turned down.
