Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi was pounding the table for his club to sign former Newcastle center midfielder Sandro Tonali this summer transfer window, andhe was willing to get Spurs to pay literally whatever it took to nab the fellow Bresica native so that De Zerbi could make him the center piece of his midfield. And Tonali was taken by De Zerbi, fully invested in being the new general of the team for the Italian manager.
The 100 million pound signing, however, started the season in embarrassing fashion. Tonali was torn apart by Brentford, of all teams, as the Bees swarmed the new regista at home, using their hunger and physicality to harrass Tonali, who just could not get a proper foot hold on the game.
Then, Tonali was just as bad a week later against his former employers, and Newcastle fans delighted in cooking their former star, whose creativity and even defensive output were totally non existent in a 2-0 loss.
Sandro Tonali improved significantly vs. Nottingham Forest
But as Tottenham slowly improved, so did Tonali more dramatically. Although Spurs dropped more points in their last Premier League fixture against new "rivals" Nottingham Forest, Tonali was quite strong, and he did his best work on the defensive end, snapping into tackles and winning the ball back for his team four times, forming a formidable pairing with Rodrigo Bentancur.
For the very first time this season in the Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur were in full control of a game, and had the No. 10 and attacking front line been more up to it, the fine work Sandro Tonali and Bentancur were doing in the battles defensively and in terms of keeping possession would have been better reflected in the final score line and result.
Tonali finally gave Tottenham a bright spot and a sign of hope that the turn around under Roberto De Zerbi this season is coming. Spurs fans have been restless about the eight dropped points in three fixtures, but in their last outing against Forest, Tonali and Spurs showed enough to make everyone believe that they are better finishing and attacking output away from their first win of the season, which could come next weekend against the very same Everton they confirmed their 2025/26 Premier League survival against.
While Tonali will continue to need to do more on the offensive end to prove that he is worth 100 million pounds, his display for Spurs against Forest was enough to quiet some of the doubts.
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