Sources: PiF angered by ’embarrassing’ Newcastle blunder over £140,000-a-week star as Sandro Tonali probe accelerates
Newcastle United are investigating how the club’s recruitment team failed to discover Sandro Tonali’s gambling addiction ahead of his £55million summer move, sources have told Football Insider.
Speaking to Football Insider’s Inside Track Podcast, editor Wayne Veysey explained how sporting director Dan Ashworth and his staff made an “embarrassing mistake” by being unaware of the Italian’s illegal activity that saw him banned from playing for 10 months.
Sources have told Football Insider that an investigation is underway to determine why a deal for Tonali was completed without the background checks establishing the nature of Tonali’s addiction.
Ashworth and company are under scrutiny for what is seen by Newcastle’s angered owners, the Saudi-based Public Investment Fund, as an avoidable error as well as a bad one.
The Magpies have paid both on and off the pitch after the 23-year-old’s ban and still must pay his full salary, which Football Insider understands to be £140,000-per-week.
It also means Newcastle have been forced to turn to the January transfer market to secure a replacement for Tonali, with the likelihood they will sign a midfielder on loan.
United are firmly in the race to land Kalvin Phillips from Man City for the rest of the season but that is far from a done deal, and he has interest from other Premier League and major European clubs including Tottenham and Juventus.
Tonali emerged as a standout for Eddie Howe’s side in the opening stretch of the season and played his last game in their 1-0 Champions League defeat against Borussia Dortmund in October.
He managed 12 appearances before his ban and notched one goal in all competitions – a strike on his Premier League debut against Aston Villa.
Newcastle have also had to navigate an injury crisis that has seen multiple long-term injuries including Sven Botman, Joe Willock, Nick Pope and Harvey Barnes.
Howe has been forced to rely on academy midfielder Lewis Miley, 17, to cover Tonali’s position in his absence.
The club were eliminated from Europe after AC Milan came back from 1-0 down to beat the Magpies 2-1 at St James’ Park on Wednesday (13 December), leaving them rock-bottom of Group F in the Champions League.
Newcastle sit seventh in the Premier League table after back-to-back defeats to Everton and Tottenham and next face Fulham at home on Saturday (16 December).
In other news, Big Newcastle development could inflict £35m+ Tottenham blow.