Roberto De Zerbi has revealed the remarkable story behind Tottenham signing of Sandro Tonali, explaining that he first made contact with the midfielder before the end of last season.
The Italian manager admitted he had already identified Tonali as a priority target and promised to pursue him if Tottenham secured their Premier League status, with Spurs later completing a club-record £100 million deal to bring the Italy international to North London.
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Roberto De Zerbi reveals how Tottenham’s pursuit of Sandro Tonali began
Speaking about how the pursuit unfolded, De Zerbi detailed the extraordinary sequence of events that brought his compatriot to North London.
“The story is very simple,” De Zerbi explained (quotes via Football London)
“The story is very simple. I saw Sandro wanted to leave before the end of the season, maybe before our Chelsea game, and we have one friend in common, he’s the team manager of Brescia.
“I read one story about Sandro which said ‘Tonali is leaving Newcastle in the summer’, and I sent a message to my friend to say ‘hey, inform Sandro, if we stay up, I go to him’.
“After 10 minutes, my friend answered ‘I said to Sandro and he’s open’. I said now we have to win one game to stay up! I watched Newcastle’s game against West Ham, 90 minutes like this (indicates sweat pouring down his face), and Sandro played very well in the first half. I said [to myself] ‘if I stay up, I come to you, I come to you, I come to you’.
Sandro Tonali shares why he said Yes to Spurs
For Tonali, the convincing pitch from De Zerbi made the decision to choose Spurs over other suitors an easy one.
Opening up about his conversations with the head coach, the midfielder admitted he knew instantly that North London was his next destination.
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“I spoke with Tottenham and the first impression is a big thing. My first impression was really positive. I spoke after two minutes with my wife and my family and I said ‘probably it will be one of my best decisions of my career’,” he remembered.
“When you are happy after a 10-minute chat, it’s everything, everything is perfect. The gaffer was Italian, Roberto. I knew him. Roberto really cares about his work, his football. He said the project will be tough but will be perfect for me, for you, for the city, and we can have one of the best seasons because we have big players. We just have to put a lot of work in.”
Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes could become one of the best midfield duos in the Premier League
With Tonali joining alongside fellow summer addition Mateus Fernandes, Tottenham’s engine room has been completely transformed ahead of the new campaign.
Combining Tonali’s elite passing range, tactical intelligence, and physical presence with Fernandes’ dynamic energy and box-to-box prowess, the Italian boss has crafted a midfield engine capable of dominating matches at the highest level.
Under De Zerbi’s tactical guidance, Tonali and Fernandes have all the attributes to quickly establish themselves as one of the most formidable midfield pairings in the Premier League.
The post Roberto De Zerbi shares fascinating behind-the-scenes story of Tottenham’s Sandro Tonali signing appeared first on CaughtOffside.
Source: Caughtoffside
