Tottenham Hotspur received another transfer bombshell this week, as David Ornstein and Fabrizio Romano confirmed the 100 million pound acquisition of Newcastle United star defensive midfielder Sandro Tonali, who joins 85 million pound signing Mateus Fernandes just one day later.
Tonali is a former Serie A champion and one of the two midfielders, Fernandes being the other, whom manager Roberto De Zerbi was beyond obsessed with bringing in. And now that he is here, let's take a look at the biggest winners and losers of the move.
Winner: Roberto De Zerbi
The winners and losers of the Sandro Tonali to Tottenham Hotspur transfer will look eerily similar to the Mateus Fernandes ones because of the similar positions they play in the squad, so the biggest winner is obviously going to be the player who demanded this signing and got the 100 million pound investment, manager Roberto De Zerbi. The Italian coach viewed his compatriot as essential to the operation, and now he has his man.
Loser: Arsenal
Arsenal were very, very interested in Tonali during the regular season, and even though they won the Premier League without him, it is unclear why the Gunners dropped their interest. They were still monitoring him, but they almost seemed resigned to let Spurs get him. Given how Martin Zubimendi's influence waned as the 2025/26 season went on, Arsenal may have just made a big mistake by letting Tottenham land this potentially special midfielder.
Winner: Mateus Fernandes
Mateus Fernandes is not a loser despite watching Sandro Tonali join the same club a day later for more money. Because the reality is that Fernandes and Tonali will benefit a lot from each other. They will make each other stronger at the base of the midfield, and these kinds of double pivots often work best in pairs. Both Tonali and Fernandes are great technically and athletically as well as mentally, and they can each reduce the burden on the other.
Loser: Rodrigo Bentancur
Meanwhile, Rodrigo Bentancur may find himself outside the looking glass. Tottenham suddenly have great depth in midfield, and while Bentancur is a decent player who really rose to the occasion for De Zerbi during the relegation battle, he is several steps below Fernandes and Tonali in quality without the future upside of Archie Gray or Lucas Bergvall.
Winner: Xavi Simons
Like with the Fernandes transfer, Xavi Simons benefits incredibly from Tonali joining Spurs. Simons was practically begging for a stronger midfield base behind him, and Tonali, in particular, is a boon for Simons as a midfield general with great progressive passing and athleticism. He will feed Simons the ball a lot better than the players from the 2025/26 season.
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