Sandro Tonali has been a targeted man ever since Tottenham Hotspur made him their club-record signing, striking a deal with Newcastle United that could be worth £100m.
When it was first reported that Spurs were in the Tonali race, joining the likes of Arsenal and both Manchester clubs, the average Joe patted us on the head and offered a patronising chuckle. As if the Italian would wind up in N17, they said.
But as soon as it became clear that Tonali would soon be donning Lilywhite, the midfielder's competence suddenly came into question. This potentially transformative midfielder for the Premier League's top dogs was no more than an overrated scrub, purely because he'd opted for Spurs.
The "English Jordan Henderson", as some have labelled him, is being dumbed down to be no more than a workhorse with subpar technical quality. As Ange Postecoglou once said, "Spurs does crazy things to people", and the discourse surrounding the club during the summer transfer window and in its aftermath reeks of bitterness and resentment.
The anti-Sandro Tonali propaganda isn't going away anytime soon
Given the astronomical fee, Tonali was always going to come under heavy scrutiny. We saw rival supporters take stock of every mishap in preseason, and plenty are lapping up the Italian's perceived struggles amid a slow start to the season for Roberto De Zerbi's side.
The vast majority are judging Tonali through snapshots, with these envious biases cultivated after his Spurs arrival emboldened by every errant pass or defensive lapse.
The world has it in for Tonali because of his price tag, and with so many desperate to see the Italian fall flat on his face. He's an easy target for those whose survival relies upon social media engagement, and 'pundits' are starting to fall for the propaganda, too. Troy Deeney, whatever he is post-playing career, mentioned the other day that the 26-year-old is "still playing bad" amid another Spurs-focused rant after Saturday's draw at the City Ground.
Tonali was absolutely fine at Nottingham Forest. In a gritty contest of fine margins, the Italian recorded the joint-second-most defensive contributions in the match (12), won the joint-third-most duels (7), and covered the most distance among Spurs players (11 km).
These numbers may feed into the narrative of Tonali being no more than legs in midfield, but the Italian was good on the ball, too. I know we're not going to get distinct artistry from him, yet Tonali is technically clean and a puncher of his passes. He'll offer at least one Declan Rice-esque lung-busting run through midfield a game, too.
This is a really good footballer who happened to fall into the lap of a club desperate to escape the misery of its past two domestic seasons. The tin foil hat brigade suggests De Zerbi encouraged the club to pay so much to help his beloved Brescia escape their financial mire, but that supposed ploy wasn't enough for Tonali's former club to avoid insolvency.
Perhaps De Zerbi and Spurs believe Tonali could emerge as their Rice-like figure in the engine room? That may be optimistic, but there just might be a logic as to why the Lilywhites paid so much to secure the services of a midfielder chased by the division's best. Mikel Arteta wanted him before pursuing Bruno Guimarães, by the way.
The scrutiny will likely remain in perpetuity, and Tonali, unless he evolves into a box-crasher who starts scoring frequently, will continue to be battered with the same tags that have been used to smear him over the past few weeks.
As a fanbase, let's not be foolish enough to succumb to the envious narratives surrounding our club-record signing.
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