Mauricio Pocehttino has been encouraged to accelerate his search for a new midfielder this summer, with Newcastle expected to snatch Sandro Tonali from under Chelsea's nose. The 23-year-old has been briefly linked with a move to the Premier League for a while now, and the Magpies look set to finally wrap up a deal.
According to The Athletic, Newcastle are close to reaching an agreement with AC Milan to sign Tonali for a fee in the region of €70million (£60.2m). The report states that Eddie Howe's side first launched their pursuit of the Italy international earlier this week while the Blues watched on from the sidelines.
Chelsea are said to hold an interest in Tonali and, despite being in the market for a new midfielder, they haven't rivalled Newcastle for his signature. Therefore, there is now one less player, who was on Pochettino's shortlist, capable of replacing N'Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic.
