Tottenham Targets Sandro Tonali as De Zerbi's Rebuild Gains Momentum
Tottenham are aiming straight at the top of the market. Their primary midfield target this summer is clear: Sandro Tonali.
Roberto De Zerbi wants a conductor, not just another body in the middle of the pitch. A player who can slow a game down to a walking pace one minute and rip through the lines with a single pass the next. In Tonali, the Spurs head coach sees exactly that profile – and he has made the Newcastle midfielder a priority as he begins a full-scale rebuild in north London after steering the club away from relegation.
De Zerbi’s statement target
Tottenham’s hierarchy have promised De Zerbi they will back his ideas and spend aggressively to reshape a squad that has too often lacked technical authority. High on that list: a central midfielder who can dictate play, control tempo and give structure to the team’s possession.
Tonali sits at the top of that list. The Italy international, already regarded as one of the Premier League’s standout midfielders, fits the model perfectly: technically sharp, tactically disciplined, and comfortable taking responsibility in tight areas. De Zerbi has identified him as the ideal pivot around which to build his style.
A move for Tonali would be more than just a signing. It would be a statement that Spurs are prepared to push into the same financial stratosphere as the clubs they want to catch.
Newcastle hold the cards
There is one problem. Newcastle do not want to sell.
Tonali is tied to a long-term contract until 2029, signed in 2024 while he was serving a 10‑month gambling ban. That deal contains no release clause, giving Newcastle significant leverage in any negotiation. The message from St James’ Park is simple: only a huge offer forces a conversation.
Even so, there has long been a sense that Tonali, along with Anthony Gordon and Tino Livramento, might be open to a new challenge this summer. That theory already has one major piece of evidence – Gordon’s £69m move to Barcelona. Tonali could be the next big name to test Newcastle’s resolve.
He is not short of admirers. Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United have all kept him high on their midfield lists, a reflection of his standing in the division.
Market pressure and a shifting midfield landscape
For now, the path to Tonali looks less crowded than it might have been. City and United have turned their attention elsewhere, easing the immediate competition but not the price.
City are locked in talks with Nottingham Forest over Elliot Anderson, a deal expected to soar beyond £100m in a summer when top midfielders are already coming at a premium. United have agreed a move for Ederson from Atalanta and are now pushing for West Ham’s Mateus Fernandes.
Those moves will shape the rest of the market. Once nine‑figure fees start to land, every negotiation moves up a bracket. If Tottenham want Tonali, they know they are operating in that territory.
Spurs’ rebuild: defence first, then the spine
Tottenham have not waited for the window to explode before acting. They have already moved to strengthen the back line, bringing in centre‑back Marcos Senesi and left‑back Andy Robertson on free transfers – two experienced additions to stabilise a defence that creaked last season.
They are not done there. Spurs want another defender and are actively pursuing Brighton’s Jan Paul van Hecke. At the same time, Brighton have tested Tottenham’s own resolve, lodging a £30m bid for teenage centre‑back Luka Vuskovic.
Vuskovic, 19, impressed on loan at Hamburg and has quickly become one of Europe’s most talked‑about young defenders. He is keen on the switch to Brighton, but Spurs are unlikely to accept the current proposal. For a club trying to lower the age profile while staying competitive, this is exactly the kind of internal tug-of-war that defines a rebuild.
All of this sits beneath the larger tactical project. De Zerbi wants a side that can play his football – brave on the ball, comfortable in tight spaces, able to build from the back and dominate possession. That makes the search for a playmaking central midfielder, like Tonali, the hinge on which the rest of the squad turns.
Replacing Son and reshaping the attack
The work does not stop in midfield. Tottenham have been hunting for a winger capable of succeeding Heung-Min Son for a year and have hit several dead ends. Moves for Bryan Mbeumo and Antoine Semenyo have come and gone without agreement.
The search continues. Manchester City’s Savinho is among the options on their list this summer, a player who fits the modern wide-forward mould: pace, direct running, and the ability to attack both inside and out.
De Zerbi also wants another striker, ideally someone who can operate across the entire front line. Last season’s injury crisis exposed how thin Spurs were in attacking depth. The aim now is variety – a forward line that can be reshuffled without a dramatic drop in quality or a complete change of approach.
A looming decision in goal
Even the goalkeeping position is not settled.
Guglielmo Vicario could yet return to Italy. Juventus have him on their shortlist as they weigh up a potential move, while Inter have previously shown interest. His future remains open, and that uncertainty may force Spurs back into the market.
Antonin Kinsky claimed the No 1 shirt for the run-in under De Zerbi and handled the pressure impressively, but relying solely on him would be a risk for a club trying to escape the lower reaches of the table. If Vicario goes, Tottenham will almost certainly have to recruit another goalkeeper to maintain competition and experience in a key position.
The Tonali question
So the picture is clear. Spurs have started at the back, are probing the market in attack, and are braced for a possible reshuffle in goal. Yet everything about this window, and the ambition behind it, keeps circling back to one name.
If Tottenham can prise Sandro Tonali out of Newcastle, De Zerbi gets the heartbeat his system demands and the club sends a message that it intends to move with the Premier League’s heavyweights, not trail in their wake.
If they cannot, the question becomes sharper: how do Spurs build a De Zerbi team without the kind of midfield general that defines it?
