Tottenham ready an improved bid for Tonali after Newcastle reject £80m opener

Tottenham are not ready to give up on Sandro Tonali. Newcastle knocked back an opening offer worth around £80m for the Italy midfielder earlier this week, and instead of moving on, Spurs are preparing a second, improved bid as Roberto De Zerbi tries to rebuild the spine of his side.

It is a statement of intent from a club that spent most of last season worrying about the bottom of the table rather than the top of it. De Zerbi kept Tottenham up, and now he wants the kind of midfielder who can change what the team looks like rather than just patch a gap.

Why De Zerbi wants him

Tonali is the sort of controller De Zerbi’s football leans on. He sets the tempo from deep, breaks up play, and keeps the ball moving when the game gets stretched, all qualities Tottenham lacked for long stretches of a difficult campaign. At 26 he is in his prime years, with the engine to cover ground and the passing range to dictate from the base of midfield.

His numbers back up the appeal. Tonali featured 53 times across all competitions for Newcastle in 2025-26, scoring three goals and laying on seven assists, and he started the bulk of their Premier League season. He has also become a fixture for Italy, which only adds to a price tag that was never going to be small.

Newcastle are in no rush to sell

The first bid was turned down quickly, and Newcastle’s position is straightforward. Tonali is under contract until 2028, he was signed for around €55m from AC Milan in 2023, and Eddie Howe rates him as one of the team’s most important players. Letting him go would need an offer that makes the decision impossible to refuse, and £80m did not get there.

There are signs the door is not bolted shut, though. Newcastle have been linked with possible midfield replacements, which usually points to a club at least preparing for the possibility of a sale rather than dismissing it outright. The gap is over valuation, not over whether a deal can ever happen.

What happens next

Spurs are expected to come back with a higher figure in the coming days, with Tonali reportedly keen on the move to north London. The transfer window runs until 1 September, so there is time, but Tottenham would rather settle this early than let it drag into a bidding war or a deadline-day scramble.

Landing Tonali would be the kind of signing that tells everyone Tottenham mean it after a season spent looking over their shoulder. Newcastle, for their part, have no need to sell and every reason to dig in. The next bid is the one that will show how serious Spurs really are.

Keep up with the summer’s transfer business