Tottenham Pursue Sandro Tonali with Ambitious £100m Move
Tottenham have spent years preaching prudence. Suddenly, they are preparing to behave like a club with nothing left to save for.
Three deals are already in the bag before pre-season has truly settled: Marcos Senesi and Andy Robertson through the door on free transfers from Bournemouth and Liverpool, Jan-Paul van Hecke bought from Brighton. Smart, efficient, tidy business.
This, though, is something very different.
Spurs Aim for a £100m Statement
According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, Tottenham are ready to put “really big money” on the table to lure Sandro Tonali away from Newcastle United and into north London.
At St James’ Park, there is an acceptance that Tonali could go this summer – but only if the numbers hit a very specific level. Ornstein reports that Newcastle value the Italy international at around £100m, with a “very significant” salary on top. That figure would shatter every financial benchmark Spurs have set for themselves.
Tottenham, he says, are already working on the player side of the equation.
“What I see happening here is Tottenham trying to get to a place where they know they can do a deal with the player on salary. I'm hearing they are offering him really big money to join them. After that, they will go to Newcastle. If that part is okay, they will open talks and try to negotiate a fee,” Ornstein explained.
If they pull it off, it would be uncharted territory: a nine-figure fee for a single player, and wages that drag Tottenham into a pay bracket they have historically avoided.
Record on the Line
GIVEMESPORT sources indicate Spurs are prepared to go to around £80m–£85m for Tonali, with the possibility of add-ons pushing the total closer to Newcastle’s £100m stance.
That alone would obliterate the club’s existing transfer record. It is a clear signal from the ownership that Roberto De Zerbi will not be starved of backing as he prepares for his first full season in charge.
Tottenham’s last two campaigns have been grim. Back-to-back 17th-place finishes in the Premier League have dragged the club into territory it has not known in the modern era. The football has been flat, the atmosphere sour, the direction unclear.
This is the response: a squad rebuild that started with shrewd free transfers and is now threatening to explode into a marquee move for a midfielder widely labelled “world-class”.
De Zerbi’s New Era, Backed With Cash
De Zerbi offered flickers of hope late in the 25/26 season, enough for Spurs to hand him the keys to a longer-term project. The hierarchy know incremental tweaks will not be enough after two years spent staring down the table rather than up it.
Tonali, if they can land him, would be the centrepiece of that reset. A player of Champions League calibre, prised from a direct Premier League rival, for a fee and salary package that would redefine what Tottenham are willing to be.
Newcastle, for their part, are in no rush to fold. Ornstein’s line is clear: they will talk, but only if the offer respects their valuation. Spurs, sources say, are edging towards that threshold, ready to “smash their transfer record” to make it happen.
They have already proved that a slide to 17th does not strip a club of its financial muscle. Tottenham remain a heavyweight in the market. The question now is whether they are prepared to complete the jump from cautious spender to genuine high-roller – and whether Sandro Tonali becomes the moment that transformation is sealed.
