Tottenham Hotspur have agreed a club-record £100 million deal to sign Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali, according to multiple British media reports.
According to AFP, the agreement includes an initial fee of £92.5 million, with a further £7.5 million in performance-related add-ons, as Spurs edge out Premier League champions Arsenal and Manchester City in the race for the Italy international.
The 26-year-old is expected to become the latest addition to manager Roberto De Zerbi’s squad following Tottenham’s agreement to sign midfielder Mateus Fernandes from West Ham on Tuesday.
The deals signal a major change in Tottenham’s transfer strategy after the departure of former chairman Daniel Levy, with the club’s majority owners, the Lewis family, backing a significant squad rebuild.
De Zerbi guided Spurs to Premier League survival on the final day of last season after a difficult campaign, and the club has since strengthened with the free-signing of Andrew Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Martin Dubravka, while Dutch defender Jan Paul van Hecke joined from Brighton in a reported £52 million deal.
Tonali joined Newcastle from AC Milan for £55 million in July 2023 but his career was interrupted by a 10-month worldwide ban imposed by the Italian Football Federation for breaching betting regulations.
The midfielder was also handed a suspended two-month ban by the English Football Association in May 2024 after admitting to further betting rule violations.
The move would make Tonali Tottenham’s most expensive signing, surpassing the club’s previous transfer record.
