Sandro Tonali marked his Newcastle debut in style by opening an account at St James's. Park Credit: Getty Images/George Wood
With Newcastle finishing in the top four last season, Eddie Howe didn't have time to fly to Milan to see Sandro Tonali in person, but he saw enough on his laptop to be sure in that. what the Italian will bring to Tyneside. According to Howe himself, he fell in love with the player.
The heroes of St. James Park are not limited to the number 9 on the T-shirt, but in the person of Tonali they have a new idol. Their £55 million arrival from Milan garnered attention on his debut, with his hair flowing and action-packed. His early goal made headlines, but the way he controlled the game impressed Howe.
People of a certain style remember Paul Gascoigne in a Newcastle shirt, and the closest modern comparison would be Luka Modric's early days at Tottenham Hotspur” when a Croatian held the ball when he was surrounded by two or three opponents.
His attributes? “You always want the ball at any moment,” Howe said. “Be ready to receive the ball with both feet. He has a very high football intelligence. When you watch him play, he always scans and takes the right position. I think he will help us to show really good football this year.”
The 23-year-old also pressed high on the pitch from time to time, while Aston Villa defenders failed to track his late entry into the box for his goal. When Newcastle ran away with the game, he dictated the pace of the game. With Bruno Guimarães at his side, Newcastle have an engine room that will give rivals trouble this season.
Sandro Tonali gives Newcastle the lead on his debut ! ⚫⚪pic.twitter.com/LawZxjStZD
— Sky Sports (@SkySports) August 12, 2023
Newcastle fans saw what Howe saw last season when Tonali played a pivotal role at Milan, reaching the Champions League semi-finals, beating Tottenham and Napoli along the way.
” Unfortunately it wasn't live. I was busy most of last season, so I couldn't go to see it live,” Howe said with a smile. “But these days, a lot of our self-reconnaissance is done on a laptop. Last year he played in several high-profile games that we watched, and for me he was an outstanding player.
“He's one of those players who always feels like he has time on the pitch, even when it's really a bottleneck. Bruno is very similar in this respect. You need players who can control the ball and we didn't have the ability we wanted last season and in games we hope we have more ball possession. That's our idea for now.”
Howe: Tonali is “humble and popular”
Fans have already fallen in love with him, chanting that their new hero is fueled by Moretti and spaghetti while disliking rivals Sunderland. With Newcastle, he settled in quickly, as evidenced by his manic celebration over the weekend.
debut for Newcastle, but influenced the game in other ways. Photo: PA/Owen Humphreys
“He is very popular. I see a player who came in very humble and very knowledgeable about his teammates and environment, and he really fit in well and made good friendships in the group, which is important,” said Howe. “We have a group of players who welcome newcomers and so far they are very good in that regard.”
Meanwhile, Howe revealed that he and his assistant Jason Tyndall were working on their own set pieces to stay in accordance with the new rules of the technical area, with only one person entering at a time.
Tindall was literally there for Howe, usually seen around his manager to the point where he faced accusations of trying to get attention for himself. The pair worked on dovetailing during matches, with Tindall focusing on corners and free kicks as he enters the technical area and Howe sits down.
“We discussed how it works. work and develop a plan that will not affect our performance and what we provide to the players,” said Howe. “The main change has affected not so much the players as ourselves.
“Jason will most often come out ahead with set pieces – corners and free kicks. Then I'll be back and able to talk to my other staff as we're reviewing a lot of different things that are evolving very quickly. So we agree and try to gather as much information as we can.
“It's a strange dynamic and it can be petty at times when you're talking about inches. We're just trying to do our best for our players. The fourth judge handled it well. We agreed when we felt it was necessary and it worked.”
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