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.
Tonali's standing in Italy remains high and the outcry among AC Milan supporters provides hope Newcastle are adding the type of talent who can further improve Howe's St James' Park dressing room. The 23-year-old took a pay cut to join his boyhood club and once insisted he could 'never imagine' leaving.
However, Newcastle have turned the screw in recent days, tempting Milan into an unlikely sale, simultaneously persuading Tonali to leave the club he has supported since he was a child for an eye-watering weekly wage packet.
Milan are a club in turmoil after the sacking of club legend and former technical director Paolo Maldini. The San Siro favourite was recently given his marching orders along with sporting director Frederic Massara to the dismay of fans.
Maldini, one of the club's greatest ever players, openly disagreed with the direction of RedBird Capital recently as he called for further investment during a recent interview with CBS Sports. “Although we are playing in a Champions League semi-final, we are not yet at the level of the best clubs," he said. "We have to make investments now, to reach that level and not risk taking steps backwards."
Maldini played a huge role in ensuring Theo Hernandez, Fikayo Tomori, and Pierre Kalulu, Ismael Bennacer and Rafael Leao all penned new deals, along with Tonali. Speculation in Italy suggests key San Siro dressing room figures are unhappy with the director's sudden departure and it could have played a part in Tonali's decision to bid farewell to Serie A.
