31 Jul 2026 06:09 BST |
4 min read
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Tottenham may have incriminated themselves in a ‘tapping up’ controversy after manager Robert De Zerbi revealed how he had spoken with Sandro Tonali over a transfer before being given permission to do so by Newcastle.
Tonali became Tottenham’s record signing earlier this month after signing from the Magpies for €108 million, having been convinced of the move by his Italian compatriot De Zerbi, with whom he shares a strong relationship.
However, De Zerbi spoke candidly to reporters where he explained that he had reached out to Tonali to gauge his interest in May before the season had ended, despite Newcastle not accepting an offer for the 26-year-old until July.
“I saw Sandro wanted to leave before the end of the season and we have one friend in common; the team manager of Brescia,” De Zerbi said. “I sent a message to my friend to say, ‘Hey, inform Sandro, if we stay up, I’ll go to him’. After 10 minutes, my friend answered me, ‘I said to Sandro, and he’s open’. I said, ‘Now we have to win one game to stay up!’
“I watched Newcastle’s game against West Ham, 90 minutes (indicates sweat coming down his face), and Sandro played very well in the first half. I said (to myself), ‘If I stay up, I come to you, I come to you, I come to you’.”
“When we won the last game with Everton, the day after the game, at 4pm, I sent a message to Sandro, ‘Sandro, I want to speak with you’,” De Zerbi revealed. “After 10 minutes, we spoke, and after two days, I came back to Italy, and we met in his home.”
Tonali reveals his priority was ‘to get the best deal for Newcastle’ after €108m Spurs move
While Newcastle could take offence to Tottenham’s approach and spark an investigation into their conduct, there is nothing to suggest they will do so, particularly after Tonali admitted he had aimed to get the Magpies ‘the best deal possible’ out of his respect for the club.
“The first thing was to get the best deal for Newcastle,” Tonali said. “I met there some of the best people for football, for their work in the training ground.
“When I decided to move, I told my agent and (sporting director) Ross Wilson that I wanted the best deal for Newcastle because they deserve everything, and if I have to move, then I can say hello to you or Eddie (Howe) in two or three years. If we meet in 10 years, I want to have a good dinner with the staff, with Ross, because they are very great people.”
Tonali also went into more detail of De Zerbi’s approach, revealing that he met with the coach in their mutual home town of Brescia during the off-season, with the Italian connection proving pivotal to his decision to sign for Spurs.
“Brescia is so small. I spent two weeks there, and (De Zerbi) as well. I met him two or three times in the city,” Tonali said. “I spoke with him (De Zerbi) when he was (managing) in Sassuolo, and at Brighton and Marseille; we spoke every time, because we are Italian, we are from Brescia, and it’s a mini-connection together.”
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