Reported by BBC Sport’s Mandeep Sanghera: Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali says he is happy at the club but prefers to take his future one year at a time.
Tonali joined the Magpies from AC Milan in July 2023 for £55m. He initially signed a five-year deal and extended his contract by a year while serving a 10-month ban imposed by the Italian Football Federation for breaching betting rules, a suspension that began in October 2023. Newcastle also hold an option to extend his contract by a further 12 months to 2030.
After Newcastle’s 2-0 Champions League win over Athletic Club, Tonali said discussing a long-term stay is difficult because “in football you need to think year for year.” He added: “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.”
Tonali has become an important part of Eddie Howe’s side this season, making 14 appearances so far. He also reflected on last summer’s transfer drama involving team-mate Alexander Isak, who eventually left for Liverpool in a £125m deal. Isak had accused the club of breaking promises and said their relationship couldn’t continue, while Newcastle maintained there had been no agreement allowing him to depart that summer.
On that period Tonali said: “The last summer was tough for us, for Alex, but this is football. If you have an option for your life, for another team you need to think about everything.” He reiterated that, while he won’t pledge to stay a decade, he is happy at Newcastle and not thinking about joining another team right now.
