Tottenham Hotspur are currently battling hard for two massive midfield signings for Roberto De Zerbi, who has approved the double swoop of Premier League standouts Sandro Tonali from Newcastle United and Mateus Fernandes from West Ham United. And yes, he wants both, as he sees both players as central to overhauling a midfield that has not been up to par in recent years.
But though Tottenham do want to bring in both players, there is one player De Zerbi and the club would like to bring in more. Italian transfer journalist Alfredo Pedulla reports that the main priority for Tottenham is Tonali, and, better yet for Spurs, he dropped the news that the Italian midfielder is simply waiting for Spurs to sign him so that he can work with De Zerbi.
That makes the Tonali transfer chase sound an awful lot like the one in which Tottenham signed Jan Paul van Hecke. Spurs were clear favorites for the Brighton center back all along, given the close relationship between Van Hecke and De Zerbi from their days at Brighton, and it got to the point where the Dutch center back straight up told the Seagulls that he only wanted to go to Spurs. Though that did not afford Tottenham any discounts on the eventual 60 million euro transfer, the statement was made.
Roberto De Zerbi clearly has clout
Tottenham Hotspur will, of course, figure to have a lot more competition for Sandro Tonali than Jan Paul van Hecke, given the Italian international is a more marquee player and a former Serie A champion with AC Milan. But even though Arsenal were closely linked to Tonali during the 2025/26 Premier League season, we have heard very little about any other clubs being interested in Tonali. At this point, Spurs are by far the favorites.
And they are especially the favorites over the other clubs if Roberto De Zerbi has all that pull and is the reason Tonali wants to join. Tonali and De Zerbi never worked together, but they are both from Brescia, and that bond can be huge in getting a move done.
What Tottenham need to do is work hard at the bargaining table with both Tonali and Newcastle to get this deal over the line. There are clear signals from the Italian media that Tonali wants this move, and Spurs have a chance to make a real statement signing in the midfield early in the summer market.
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