Newcastle look to £17m Real Madrid man to fill void set to be left by Sandro Tonali

Newcastle United are set to learn the fate of Sandro Tonali early this week and will more than likely need to start thinking of a replacement.

Sandro Tonali faces anything up to a four-year ban after admitting to betting on AC Milan games when contracted to the Rossoneri and, therefore, Newcastle will need to start thinking about who can fill in for their £55million signing while he's unable to play.

Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips seems to be the media's favourite for the position. The England regular has barely featured at all since his £42 million switch from Leeds to the Premier League champions and has been told by Gareth Southgate that he needs to be playing for his club to continue being selected for England... although why that's suddenly important to him is anyone's guess.

Newcastle wanted Kalvin Phillips before he went to Man City

Newcastle were interested in Phillips before Pep Guardiola scooped him up and as such are consistently linked with an interest in the 27-year-old.

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Now, though, reports from Italy (via JuveFC) have suggested that Newcastle and Juventus—who have two banned players to replace—are monitoring the situation with Real Madrid's Dani Ceballos.

Ceballos spent two years on loan at Arsenal before returning to Madrid and signing a new deal until 2027, but he's managed just 78 minutes in four games this season and, according to Team Talk, it's believed that offers of around €20 million (£17.4m) will be listened to by the Spanish giants.

Dani Ceballos will not be short of offers if Real Madrid decide to sell

Team Talk also credits Aston Villa with an interest in the 27-year-old.

Ceballos was decent for Arsenal occasionally popping up with some feats of magic, but for me, Kalvin Phillips fits the bill better and we should be able to pick him up on loan, although City may be cagey about loaning to a direct rival.

The third option is that Newcastle don't bring anyone else in at all to deputise for Tonali. Let's be honest, we're not short of midfielders, especially with Joe Willock so close to a return.