Tottenham Wins £100m Race for Tonali as Arsenal Withdraw
Tottenham Hotspur have agreed a £100million deal to sign Sandro Tonali from Newcastle United, edging out north London rivals Arsenal after the Gunners turned down the chance to move for the Italy international.
The 26-year-old is set to become the second player to break Spurs’ transfer record in the same window. Matheus Fernandes is also due to arrive from West Ham United in an £85million move, with both deals signalling a ruthless overhaul of Ange Postecoglou’s midfield.
Two of the most coveted central midfielders on the Premier League market this summer are heading to the same postcode. Only one of them will be wearing red.
Arsenal say no as Spurs push the boat out
ChronicleLive report that Tonali’s agent, Giuseppe Riso, approached Arsenal and offered his client to the Emirates hierarchy. The response was cold. Arsenal are understood to have walked away after balking at the financial package on the table.
Tonali is in line to earn around £275,000 per week at Tottenham on a six-year contract, a figure Arsenal were unwilling to match. On top of that, Riso is said to have sought a 10% agent commission, further inflating the overall cost of any deal.
Tottenham, though, were prepared to go where Arsenal would not. football.london understands Spurs increased their initial £80million offer by roughly £20million to reach an agreement with Newcastle, taking the total package to £100million.
The structure is clear: an initial £92.5million fee, with a further £7.5million in add-ons tied to Champions League qualification. The push in the final stretch of negotiations convinced Newcastle to cash in.
Newcastle cash in – again
For Newcastle, Tonali is the latest high-value departure in a summer of hard-nosed trading. The club have already banked £80million from the sale of Anthony Gordon, and the Tonali deal takes their incoming transfer fees to around £180million.
Three months ago, chief executive David Hopkinson publicly acknowledged that no player is completely off the market if the price is right.
“We think through what players might or might not want to do this summer,” he said. “But if an [Alexander] Isak-like scenario presents itself again, any player under contract is going to leave on our terms. And we're going to maximise the opportunity that might represent for the club.”
Tonali has become that scenario. A star name, leaving on Newcastle’s terms, for a fee that reshapes their summer strategy.
Riso had already hinted that a move away from Tyneside was always on the table if the right club and the right number came along.
“Exactly, that was the goal from the moment he went to England – to try to make him a star player,” the agent said in March. “I think he's the Italian footballer with one of the highest values in the world.
“The deal came about because a club like Newcastle, with unlimited financial resources, had decided to invest in Sandro. We considered the idea of having the player play in a higher-level league.”
Now another club with serious financial muscle have decided he is worth an even bigger gamble.
North London power play
For Arsenal, the Tonali decision underlines a clear line on wages and structure. They admired the player but refused to rip up their internal framework. Their attention remains fixed on another Newcastle midfielder: Bruno Guimaraes.
Arsenal’s interest in the Brazil international stretches back to his days at Atletico Paranaense in 2020. That long-standing admiration has never fully faded, even as his price and profile have soared on Tyneside.
Yet every major sale Newcastle complete only strengthens their position over their captain. With £80million already banked for Gordon and another £100million agreed for Tonali, Newcastle look under even less pressure to entertain offers for Guimaraes.
Tottenham, meanwhile, have moved decisively. A midfield that has felt light in big moments now gets a dramatic facelift. Tonali and Fernandes arrive as statement pieces, players signed not just to plug gaps but to redefine the way Spurs operate in the centre of the pitch.
Arsenal had the chance to shape that story differently. They passed. Spurs didn’t. The next chapter plays out in north London next season.
