TOTTENHAM CONTINUED THEIR summer spending spree by signing Sandro Tonali for a club-record transfer fee from Newcastle.
An agreement between the two Premier League rivals for the signature of the midfielder was reached on Wednesday night and a move finally announced on Monday morning, with Spurs paying an initial £92.5million (€107.91m) and a further £7.5m (€8.75m) in add-ons, the Press Association understands.
“I’m very happy to be here. When I arrived at the club today, it felt fantastic. People said about there being four or five clubs – there was only one,” Tonali told the official club website.
“I spoke to the head coach (Roberto De Zerbi) for close to two hours about the club, the fans, the stadium and our football. It was like magic because I knew immediately that I had to sign for Tottenham.
“I’ve played against Tottenham a few times and always found a great atmosphere made by great fans. I can’t wait to start the season.”
Tonali’s club-record signing follows the £85m (€99.16m) deal for Mateus Fernandes announced on Thursday and Jan Paul van Hecke joining from Brighton for £52m (€60.7m) earlier this summer, which takes Spurs’ spending to £237m (€276.48m).
Martin Dubravka, Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi have also signed as free agents, but Tonali was top of De Zerbi’s wish list and completes the club’s midfield revamp with the 26-year-old viewed as a statement addition.
De Zerbi said: “Sandro is a special player and a great signing for our club.
“I have followed him for a long time, as he came through the youth system at my hometown club, Brescia, and I’m so happy to be working with him now.
“Given his qualities, there was a lot of interest in Sandro this summer. However, he was very clear in his desire to join Tottenham, and I know our fans will love what he brings to the team.”
Tonali started his career at Brescia before he joined AC Milan in 2020, but three years later the Italian giants let the popular midfielder leave for a significant fee to sign for Newcastle.
A matter of months into his time at St James’ Park and Tonali was handed a worldwide ban from playing football for 10 months for breaching betting regulations during his time in Italy.
When Tonali returned the following campaign, he helped inspire Newcastle to Carabao Cup glory at Wembley, but he will continue his chapter in England with Spurs.
Tonali said in a post on his Instagram page: “Three years ago I came to Newcastle not really knowing what to expect. Today it’s time to say goodbye and it’s hard to find the right words.
“Above all, I want to speak directly to the fans. When things were hard for me, you were there. Not for one day did I feel alone. I felt it every time I was at St James’ Park. That’s something I will carry with me for the rest of my life.”
After back-to-back 17th place finishes in the Premier League, Tottenham’s previously stringent financial model has been thrown out of the window this summer by majority owners the Lewis family.
Spurs have regularly boasted the lowest wages to revenue ratio compared to domestic rivals, with this figure at 45% for the 2024-25 campaign.
However, with revenue streams regularly beyond the €580m mark, partly due to the amount of non-football events being hosted at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the north London club have relaxed their rigid wage structure and broken their transfer record twice this summer.
Tonali is not expected to be Spurs’ last arrival with attacking reinforcements the new key focus and PA understands there is interest in Bournemouth forward Junior Kroupi.
Sandro Tonali completes club-record €117m switch to Tottenham
TOTTENHAM CONTINUED THEIR summer spending spree by signing Sandro Tonali for a club-record transfer fee from Newcastle.
An agreement between the two Premier League rivals for the signature of the midfielder was reached on Wednesday night and a move finally announced on Monday morning, with Spurs paying an initial £92.5million (€107.91m) and a further £7.5m (€8.75m) in add-ons, the Press Association understands.
“I’m very happy to be here. When I arrived at the club today, it felt fantastic. People said about there being four or five clubs – there was only one,” Tonali told the official club website.
“I spoke to the head coach (Roberto De Zerbi) for close to two hours about the club, the fans, the stadium and our football. It was like magic because I knew immediately that I had to sign for Tottenham.
“I’ve played against Tottenham a few times and always found a great atmosphere made by great fans. I can’t wait to start the season.”
Tonali’s club-record signing follows the £85m (€99.16m) deal for Mateus Fernandes announced on Thursday and Jan Paul van Hecke joining from Brighton for £52m (€60.7m) earlier this summer, which takes Spurs’ spending to £237m (€276.48m).
Martin Dubravka, Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi have also signed as free agents, but Tonali was top of De Zerbi’s wish list and completes the club’s midfield revamp with the 26-year-old viewed as a statement addition.
De Zerbi said: “Sandro is a special player and a great signing for our club.
“I have followed him for a long time, as he came through the youth system at my hometown club, Brescia, and I’m so happy to be working with him now.
“Given his qualities, there was a lot of interest in Sandro this summer. However, he was very clear in his desire to join Tottenham, and I know our fans will love what he brings to the team.”
Tonali started his career at Brescia before he joined AC Milan in 2020, but three years later the Italian giants let the popular midfielder leave for a significant fee to sign for Newcastle.
A matter of months into his time at St James’ Park and Tonali was handed a worldwide ban from playing football for 10 months for breaching betting regulations during his time in Italy.
When Tonali returned the following campaign, he helped inspire Newcastle to Carabao Cup glory at Wembley, but he will continue his chapter in England with Spurs.
Tonali said in a post on his Instagram page: “Three years ago I came to Newcastle not really knowing what to expect. Today it’s time to say goodbye and it’s hard to find the right words.
“Above all, I want to speak directly to the fans. When things were hard for me, you were there. Not for one day did I feel alone. I felt it every time I was at St James’ Park. That’s something I will carry with me for the rest of my life.”
After back-to-back 17th place finishes in the Premier League, Tottenham’s previously stringent financial model has been thrown out of the window this summer by majority owners the Lewis family.
Spurs have regularly boasted the lowest wages to revenue ratio compared to domestic rivals, with this figure at 45% for the 2024-25 campaign.
However, with revenue streams regularly beyond the €580m mark, partly due to the amount of non-football events being hosted at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the north London club have relaxed their rigid wage structure and broken their transfer record twice this summer.
Tonali is not expected to be Spurs’ last arrival with attacking reinforcements the new key focus and PA understands there is interest in Bournemouth forward Junior Kroupi.
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