Newcastle dealt Sandro Tonali blow as Juventus offer ‘complex’ swap deal for star
Newcastle’s transfer window continues to be thrown into disarray with another one of their stars potentially on the move in a shock swap deal.
The Toon have suffered an abysmal window, in which they have failed to secure their top targets ahead of Premier League rivals.
Anthony Elanga and Aaron Ramsdale have been acquired, but star Alexander Isak is set to leave the club with Liverpool wanting to strike a deal.
Newcastle could now have to battle to keep another key player amid Eddie Howe’s unstable preparations for the upcoming Premier League campaign.
Italian giants want Tonali capture
As per The Sun [8 August] Juventus are “long-term admirers” of midfielders Sandro Tonali and are prepared to offer either Dusan Vlahovic, Douglas Luiz or defender Nicolo Savona as part of a deal, which has been described as “complex” as it would not be a straight player-swap.
Striker Vlahovic could be a replacement for Isak, but it remains unclear whether the Newcastle would want the 25-year-old.
Vlahovic only hit 10 goals in Serie A last season and Juventus are struggling to offload the Serbian.
Premier League club’s have explored a move for Vlahovic in the past, but a deal has never been struck.
Luiz has prior Premier League experience at Aston Villa and is a target for Nottingham Forest and Everton with Juventus wanting the Brazilian midfielder to leave on a permanent transfer.
Growing crisis for Howe
Football Insider Verdict
Since returning from his betting ban in August last year, Tonali has formed a key part of Newcastle’s midfield.
A tenacious box-to-box midfielder, Tonali is important to Newcastle’s high energy game which Howe likes to deploy, especially at St James’ Park.
| Apperances | 45 |
| Goals | 6 |
| Assists | 3 |
With growing concern over their inability to sign a striker and the saga surrounding Isak, having to deal with the loss of Tonali is not what Howe needs and encompasses their disastrous window.
Vlahovic’s stats do not back up the notion that he could be a solution to Newcastle’s forward problems and the Toon seem unlikely to want either Luiz or Savona.
Newcastle are going into the new season distracted by transfers and their pre-season results have reflected Howe’s current inability to solely concentrate on on-field matters.
Defensively, Newcastle have shipped goals in pre-season and without a natural number nine they lack a vocal point up-front.
Their first league fixture at Aston Villa could expose those flaws if Howe does not sort out the mess his club are in currently in the transfer market.