Tottenham Hotspur defensive midfielder Sandro Tonali has not enjoyed the most frutiful start to the 2026/27 Premier League season. He got absolutely embarrassed in his debut against Brentford on Matchday 1 and humbled even more on Matchday 2 against his former employers Newcastle United, with the Magpies fans laughing and declaring Tonali a waste of money on Spurs part.
But while it is true that through the first four Matchdays of the season, Tonali has not looked like a 100 million pound signing, he has shown an improvement in performance already. He was rock solid, especially defensively, a couple of weeks ago as Spurs picked up their first point of the season with a 0-0 draw against Nottingham Forest.
And Spurs missed his presence in the middle of the park in their 3-1 loss to Liverpool, as Tonali was out as a surprising late scratch with an apparent knock. The nature of the injury is unknown and was not clarified by Roberto De Zerbi, but it was also never expected to be serious.
Tottenham need Sandro Tonali at his best vs. Aston Villa
Via Hotspur Lane, Sandro Tonali was seen at the Tottenham Hotspur training session on Thursday, essentially confirming him as a starter against Aston Villa. And with star right back Pedro Porro also set to return after missing both the Everton and Liverpool matchups, Spurs are getting two key reenforcements as they seek their first win of the 2026/27 season against a Premier League level opponent.
Tonali has not been world class to start the campaign, but it is obvious to see his quality in terms of his reading of the game, positioning, and technique. He just needs to get in the rhythm and the swing of things at his new club, and, again, the improvements have been visible from the Italian international in recent weeks.
Tottenham and Aston Villa have become something of rivals over the past couple of seasons, as Villa have become a perennial European side under Unai Emery. Meanwhile, Spurs have fallen down to 17th in back to back seasons and are currently still 17th in the Premier League to start the season, so Villa fans are using that as ammunition to say that they have replaced Spurs as a Big Six club.
While that is obviously not the case, Tottenham can only quiet Aston Villa fans by beating them and winning consistently to where they can get back ahead of them in the table. And they are going to need Tonali back and at his best this weekend to do that.
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