Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali has spoken out about Arsenal transfer speculation and claims about his relationship with Eddie Howe following his FA Cup exploits.
Sandro Tonali was Newcastle’s FA Cup hero on Saturday. (Image: Newcastle United, via Getty Images)
Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali has broken his silence following the closure of the transfer window and pledged his loyalty to the club and manager Eddie Howe. There were rumors that the midfielder had fallen out with his manager, but Tonali insists he has put those rumors to rest.
The Italian’s future has once again become the subject of intense speculation after his links with Arsenal were revealed on deadline day.
Both the Gunners and Newcastle claimed there was no substance to the claims, but it emerged that an intermediary had introduced Tonali to the north London team. Tonali’s agent clarified that it was not him, but failed to quell the rumors, saying he would discuss the player’s future with Magpies executives after the season.
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There has been a worrying decline in Tonali’s performances in recent months, with the midfielder failing to reproduce the standards he set last season.
Despite this, he rediscovered his best form with a great performance in Saturday’s FA Cup match against Aston Villa, scoring two goals to spark his side’s come-from-behind victory and secure qualification to the fifth round of the tournament.
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Tonali enthusiastically marked both goals with his traveling Toon Army, sprinting towards Howe and jumping into a hug after the second attack. Now, he has explained his motivations and revealed that he wants to prove that his bond with his manager is strong despite speculation.
He said: “I think this celebration at the beginning, we didn’t score for seven months. Even if we didn’t score for seven months, after the first goal we celebrate 10 or 11 goals. Like Bruno (Guimarães)!”
“But after the second goal I came to Eddie (Howe) because people have been talking about our relationship for the last few weeks. But I work with the manager every day and he works with me every day and our relationship is perfect.”
“It’s not broken and I think this is perfect for the team.
“We try to do our best for this team every game because we play a lot of games. We play every three days and we have to be focused on the practice field every time to do our best for the team.”
Tonali admitted he has endured a slow start to the season, but hopes a win at Villa will boost his team’s morale and be the start of his own comeback.
Newcastle have now secured back-to-back wins on the road and are preparing for their next challenging away fixture as they travel to Azerbaijan to face Qarabag in the FA Cup.
The player said, “It’s important for the team because it’s our second consecutive away win, but it’s also important for me because it’s my first two goals of the season.”
“We got off to a bit of a slow start, but every time we score, it changes the game and the whole day!”
“Over the last two months we have been trying to score a little more, but the first and most important thing is always the team.
“I’m especially happy for Nick (Woltemade). He played as a midfielder and played very well and scored the last goal. And I’m happy for all the players, all the staff and all the fans.”
“It was a great game today. We played very well. This game is very important because we have one dream – to return to Wembley.”
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