Coming into Matchday 2 of the 2026/27 Premier League season, a lot of Newcastle United supporters were deriding Sandro Tonali and claiming that the new Tottenham Hotspur defensive midfielder was never that good to begin with and was a player the Magpies were more than happy to collect a cool 100 million pounds for.
After all, Tonali had a terrible performance on Matchday 1 against Brentford as the Lilywhites were blown out 3-0 by their local rivals, and while Roberto De Zerbi would later claim that Tonali was not fully fit, even that would no excuse just how badly he was overrun and outfought by the Brentford midfielders as a blockbuster transfer.
Despite having the perfect opportunity to prove his quality, fitness, and leadership, all Tonali could do against his former employers on Saturday in front of his own home fans was get shredded apart. Whereas fellow new signing Mateus Fernandes was excellent and continued to create chances while defending well, Tonali was a disaster in the middle of the park, again, playing a huge role in a Tottenham Hotspur defeat by getting totally overrun by the opposition.
Sandro Tonali was totally overmatched against Newcastle
Tonali seemed to fall into that narrative Newcastle United fans were weaving, and while Tottenham fans were very happy about the Tonali signing despite the price tag, a few of them are starting to buy into what the fans of his former club are saying about the former Serie A winner at AC Milan.
Because the Italian international did look like an overmatched midfielder who did not look like he belongs in the Premier League tactically in his reading of the game or even physically despite his stature and athleticism on paper.
On the pitch, Sandro Tonali was getting run circles around him, and he could barely complete pass for his team, with a completion percentage hovering in the low 80s for Spurs as they were torn apart in the second half 2-0 by Newcastle.
Tottenham need more assertiveness on the ball from Tonali and smarter play from him, and he also has to be a much more active ball winner. Newcastle just flipped the script on Tonali, and what the fans have been saying about him looking like Tarzan and playing like Jane is starting to look like a brutal reality that Roberto De Zerbi has to solve immediately, otherwise Tottenham are going to get blanked in even more Premier League games in September and October.
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