Sandro Tonali's potential wage at Tottenham - and how he compares to the highest earners

Roberto De Zerbi is seriously pushing to bring star midfielder Sandro Tonali to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer.

Arsenal and Manchester United have been strongly linked with the Italian international, but there is a growing confidence at Hotspur Way that he could snub both.

The Spurs boss has been extremely complimentary of the star over the years, and finally looks set to work alongside the former AC Milan man.

De Zerbi has already been able to welcome Marcos Senesi and Andy Robertson into the squad, but the Italian simply can't stop there after what was an embarrassing campaign by the Lilywhites' standards.

There needs to be a huge shift in mindset on the pitch, and signing Tonali on a big-money deal would certainly begin that long-term change this summer.

Any deal is likely to come at an eye-watering cost, though, with Tonali still having two years remaining on his current contract at St James' Park.

Sandro Tonali could be Tottenham's new highest earner

In addition to the transfer fee, Spurs will have to pay the midfielder handsomely if they are to secure his signature, but the club clearly have more than enough funds to do so.

It is believe that Tonali is currently on a base salary of £190,000-a-week, excluding potential bonuses, and even with a five per cent increase, he would earn just below £200,000-a-week.

That would equate to over £10million-a-year, and it is pretty interesting to see where he compares within the squad at Hotspur Way right now.

If reports are to be believed, Xavi Simons in the top earner, with £195,000-a-week, tied with exit-bound Cristian Romero in first place.

Next up is James Maddison, who reportedly earns £170,000-a-week, shortly followed by new arrival Conor Gallagher at £160,000-a-week, and Mohammed Kudus at £150,000-a-week.

How could Spurs free up funds this summer?

As shown by the previous figures, Spurs have the desire to splash money, and that will be music to De Zerbi's ears this summer.

The key will be getting rid of the deadweight from the current squad, and cashing in on the high profile names who clearly see their futures elsewhere.

Romero is certainly one of those players, while Yves Bissouma, Pape Sarr and Richarlison all appear to have run their race in North London.

Any of these players leaving would free up siginficant funds to afford a deal for Tonali, and then pay him some eye-watering fees to keep him happy away from St James' Park.