Sandro Tonali

Seeing this thread

That midfield is a war machine.

Il Drago said:

Unless we sell at least two of Gagliardini, Vecino and Nainggolan i can't see us getting another midfielder. If we get Tonali and Nainggolan returns we will have 8 midfielders. Even if we have the budget for another midfielder, we can't keep adding players without offloading anyone.

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We currently have: Eriksen, Brozovic, Barella, Sensi, Vecino, Gagliardini, Nainggolan and Mario (Valero is gone). Mario will be sold or loaned out. My guess is that if Tonali joins, at least one of Vecino/Nainggolan will be sold.

Tonali is 20, I don't expect him to be a starter straight away. But he will add strength to our depth and hopefully soon become a key player for us.

we'll sign 1 mid and it looks like Tonali is firmly the 1st choice

Bluenine said:

We currently have: Eriksen, Brozovic, Barella, Sensi, Vecino, Gagliardini, Nainggolan and Mario (Valero is gone). Mario will be sold or loaned out. My guess is that if Tonali joins, at least one of Vecino/Nainggolan will be sold.

Tonali is 20, I don't expect him to be a starter straight away. But he will add strength to our depth and hopefully soon become a key player for us.

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I meant another midfielder apart from Tonali. Regardless what happens with sales, we will try to sign Tonali as he's one of the best talents in the league and you don't want to miss out on him.

I had totally forgotten about Mario.

If we had a 4-3-1-2 coach then we'd probably end up with a masterful midfield that would also be utilized.

But with Conte and his 3-5-2 variations, we can only use 3 of these guys and 2 of them have to run a lot. We got that covered with Barella, Brozovic and perhaps Vecino if he stays.

But that leaves room for 7 roster spots:
Brozovic
Barella
Sensi
Eriksen
Vecino
Gagliardini
Valero
Tonali
Nainggolan
Joao Mario

I wouldn't expect Radja to return, so that takes us to 8 and I won't even consider Joao Mario who's probably going to be loaned somewhere again. Valero is leaving, so that's 7 already but we could also see Vecino or Gagliardini sold. This lineup leaves Gagliardini as the 7th man, Vecino the 6th which means he'll barely be playing and then we'll have Sensi and Tonali in the first 5 slots along with Eriksen, Barella and Brozovic who are the assumed starters. With this kind of formation, there's no need to go for another midfielder. 3 spots, you won't be rotating them week in, week out and even so, the 6th and 7th choice won't be playing that much even if you do rotate. So even if we do sell Gagliardini and Vecino I'm expecting a youngster to be the 7th guy and perhaps a veteran or a loanee to be the 6th choice guy.

We won't go for 2 additions in the middle unless we're changing tactics. With a 4-3-1-2 that same setup allows Eriksen to be freed from this rotation which also allows the 7th choice central midfielder to be getting decent playing time, whilst the 6th one could also be part of the main rotation.

If the priority is Kumbulla and Tonali, then we're probably set with transfers after pursuing an overpriced wing back and a backup striker assuming no other sales are made. Risky assumption though.

thatdude said:

From what I’ve seen from Tonali he strikes me a lot more as a CM then the “new Pirlo” if anything his play style reminds me more of Luca Modric.

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Agree. I think people are inclined to compare him to Pirlo because they look kinda similar.

From what I've seen he likes to play closer to the goal much more than Pirlo ever did. Plus, he is capable of scoring some nice goals from outside the box, which would go to waste if we put him in Brozo's spot.

I'd say keep Brozovic in his usual deep lying position and have Eriksen, Barella and Tonali compete for the two CM spots.

If we do get Tonali and don't buy an above average wing player for either wing then formation change is bound to happen imo which is good I guess since our strength won't be defense anymore, but midfield.

CafeCordoba said:

We don't seal this until the season is over. Mark my words.

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Doesn't mean much but this is what Corriere della Sera reports

#Tonali : #Marotta he has the player's yes and for the moment he does not sink the blow, he waits for the end of the season when the price will be lowered

Corriere della Sera

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According to Romano, Juventus prefer Zaniolo over Tonali. I believe this is Juventus giving up on Tonali. I am curious about the creative accounting Juventus and Roma will use this time to deal with plusvalenza and future sale percentage on Zaniolo.

We have 15% resale slice of Zaniolo. Hopefully loan deals are included like they were NOT in Lo Celso's case with Betis and PSG. Then Spurs bought the player with some loan deal scam so Betis didn't have to pay as much to PSG as they would have done in normal transfer.

Now that Juve has Kulusevski, don't see any reason for them to get Zaniolo.

CafeCordoba said:

We have 15% resale slice of Zaniolo. Hopefully loan deals are included like they were NOT in Lo Celso's case with Betis and PSG. Then Spurs bought the player with some loan deal scam so Betis didn't have to pay as much to PSG as they would have done in normal transfer.

Now that Juve has Kulusevski, don't see any reason for them to get Zaniolo.

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Their reason is to get Zaniolo instead of somebody else. Especially if that will be Inter. They will offload some crap like Bernandesci in the process.

Il Drago said:

According to Romano, Juventus prefer Zaniolo over Tonali. I believe this is Juventus giving up on Tonali. I am curious about the creative accounting Juventus and Roma will use this time to deal with plusvalenza and future sale percentage on Zaniolo.

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Cristante valued at 90 mln euro, Zaniolo at 10 mln

diamen said:

Cristante valued at 90 mln euro, Zaniolo at 10 mln

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Yeah, I can see them doing that, definitely.

Going into 20/21- Our midfield should be something like the following

Eriksen
Brozovic
Barella
Sensi
Gagliardini
Tonali
Nainggolan
Candreva

How they line up as a starting 11? Tonali and Nainoggolan to be rotated through Sensi/Barella and Brozovic.

Sensi Eriksen Candreva
Barella Brozovic

Looking at that we that we need to focus on Left and Right Midfielders/Wing backs.....

To be sold:
Joao Mario
Vecino

I'm not so sure we'll keep Nainggolan. There are talks of it, but I think they mainly come because Cagliari can't afford him. However, I'm not sure how many teams can. I feel like our midfield may look something like:

Sensi
Barella
Brozovic
Eriksen
Tonali
Gagliardini

Gagliardini generally makes more sense as a 6th option to me. Vecino is a Uruguayan international and has been linked to EPL, and I see him less accepting of a "6th midfielder" role.

CoolMan44 said:

I'm not so sure we'll keep Nainggolan. There are talks of it, but I think they mainly come because Cagliari can't afford him. However, I'm not sure how many teams can. I feel like our midfield may look something like:

Sensi
Barella
Brozovic
Eriksen
Tonali
Gagliardini

Gagliardini generally makes more sense as a 6th option to me. Vecino is a Uruguayan international and has been linked to EPL, and I see him less accepting of a "6th midfielder" role.

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I would be happy with that midfield, as long as we improve our wingback quality

We have the player`s word, Marotta publicly praising him so I consider this a done deal for a long time.

thatdude said:

I like this signing but not if we are planning on playing him primarily as the deepest player in front of defense. I don’t want him to be a Brozovic replacement, I would still like a DM. Someone physical and at least 6 feet preferably. Someone like Marc Roca or Bruno Guimarães would help bring balance to the team. Use Brozovic as one of the more advanced options and he or Tonali can also act as the back up for the DM.

From what I’ve seen from Tonali he strikes me a lot more as a CM then the “new Pirlo” if anything his play style reminds me more of Luca Modric.

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IMO Tonali can act as defensive-minded player and offer Brozovic more freedom when it comes to attacking, as he is more dynamic.

Shark said:

From what I've seen he likes to play closer to the goal much more than Pirlo ever did. Plus, he is capable of scoring some nice goals from outside the box, which would go to waste if we put him in Brozo's spot.

I'd say keep Brozovic in his usual deep lying position and have Eriksen, Barella and Tonali compete for the two CM spots.

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I feel that Brozovic is much more lethal when it comes to scoring, so he would be more valuable from that perspective. We need scoring midfielders and Brozovic is proven to do this. Let`s see how this 3-4-1-2 will work, as Eriksen is not a mezzala.

Lopez: 'Tonali has no limits'

Brescia boss Diego Lopez has explained why midfield starlet Sandro Tonali is so sought-after. “He has no limits.” Tonali has showed his quality in his first season as a Serie A player for Brescia, providing five assists in 25 games and picking up his first three Italy caps.
“If he’s fit, he plays,” Lopez told Corriere della Sera. “There’s a lot of talk about him, and rightly so, but he’s just a young lad who is in love with the ball.”

The Uruguayan then reacted to reports Inter were leading the race to sign the 20-year-old.
“I can’t give him advice on what to do off the pitch. As a player, I’d say he can still improve. He has it all, but he can get even better. He has no limits.”

Finally, the former Cagliari defender revealed what he thought to be Tonali’s best position.
“I really like him in front of the defence. I see him versatile like [Radja] Nainggolan in the middle of the field.”

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javier_zanetti <3 said:

Barella - Tonali - Brozo
Eriksen
Toro - Lukaku

Boom.

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Yes, please! At least for 1 season :datass: very dynamic duo powering our engine with Barella and Brozovic constantly running up & down :horny:

https://twitter.com/nonleggerlo/status/1270342144339910657?s=20

Journalist asks a question about Tonali, Marotta talks in a very roundabout way about money and other economic factors, journalist says 'You didn't answer my question about Tonali', Beppe says 'exactly' and starts laughing.

This is done boys. This is the same man who denied meeting with Eriksen's agent directly before being spotted having dinner with him, he would never be this open about a deal that wasn't completed.

Tonali is sub-Brozo atm, and potential world star. Would be awesome transfer. Can give Brozo a break when needed ad can cover multiple midfield positions.