Newcastle United are closing in on a deal for AC Milan star Sandro Tonali and while there is palpable excitement on Tyneside, there has been a small amount of scepticism among rival fans and European football admirers who have raised concerns over the rumoured €80m (£73m) fee involved and whether the midfielder will fit in Eddie Howe's system.
However, a brief look on social media in recent days gives you a pretty clear indication as to how AC Milan supporters are feeling about the prospect of diehard fan Tonali leaving for the Premier League. RedBird Capital Partners founder Gerry Cardinale, who owns a majority stake in the Italian giants, found his name was trending on Twitter on Wednesday evening as #CardinaleOut did the rounds among San Siro diehards.
"2023 will be the year i will stop following football. If we manage to force out a player like Tonali who has taken a wage cut and supported Milan all his life then I am done" is a flavour of the overriding feeling among AC Milan fans.
