Sandro Tonali refuses to commit long-term future to Newcastle United but it's not as devastating as it sounds
Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali is often the subject of intense speculation regarding his future, with Italian media insisting that he wants to return home to Italy.
Sandro Tonali has never said anything of the sort, at least publicly, and in fact, when asked, he always speaks about how happy he is at Newcastle.
However, because Tonali is an honest person, he does always leave room for doubt in his answers, basically because he's aware nobody can predict the future.
This was the case again last night after Newcastle's 2-0 win over Athletic Club when Tonali was asked about his long-term future once again.
Sandro Tonali won't look too far into the future
After being asked about the contract extension he signed during his 10-month ban, which just recently came to light, he was then asked if he sees his long-term future at Newcastle, and the Italian gave a very honest answer.
“This is a tough question because, you know, [in] football you need to think year for year.
“I don’t want to say I want to stay here 10 years and in two years, three years, four years [or] five years I will go.
“I want to think, just for me, year for year. This is football. The last summer was tough for us, for Alex [Isak], but this is football. If you have an option for your life, for another team you need to think about everything.
“I don’t want to say ‘Yes, I want to stay here 10 years’ but now I’m happy here. I don’t think anything about another team.”
Sandro Tonali is simply being realistic
For me, that was the perfect answer. He's honest and aware that things change in football overnight. Alexander Isak was the perfect example to bring up.
It doesn't mean for one second that he wouldn't put pen to paper on a new deal if offered one, but the length of that contract could be an issue for him.
That's the problem Newcastle faces. Getting Tonali to sign a long-term deal will preserve his value. If Tonali just keeps signing one-year extensions, when it comes time for him to move on, getting anywhere near his actual value will be difficult if there's no big contract to. buy him out of.
Hopefully, the player and the club can compromise on that front when talks open.
