Arsenal’s pursuit of Sandro Tonali has been one of the more prominent transfer stories of the summer.
But according to one well-placed insider, the situation may not be quite as straightforward as it appears.
Speaking on the Transfer Talk podcast, Dharmesh Sheth questioned where the story came from in the first place.
“Because it all came out in January, didn’t it? That Arsenal were interested, whereas we think it might be agent driven,” Sheth said.
“But when stories like this emanate, there’s no smoke without fire. So clearly, there’s a situation there where maybe Tonali wants to leave.”
What is the maximum fee Arsenal should pay to sign Sandro Tonali?
That would make a lot of sense. It’s possible the Arsenal links were pushed by Tonali’s camp to generate interest and gain leverage, rather than being based on any concrete approach from the Gunners.
But as Sheth points out, even if the story originated from that, it doesn’t mean there’s nothing to it.
Tonali clearly wants a new challenge, and Newcastle have long believed Arsenal remain the favourites to sign him, despite Tottenham’s increasingly concrete interest.
Spurs, under manager Roberto De Zerbi, are confident they can compete with both Manchester City and Arsenal for Tonali’s signature, with Newcastle valuing him at around £100million.
Could this end up like another Eberechi Eze-esque hijack, where Arsenal make a late swoop to catch their north London rivals off guard?
Does Sandro Tonali actually make sense for Arsenal at £100m?
Tonali checks plenty of boxes for Mikel Arteta. He is excellent on the ball, combative without it, and now has several years of Premier League experience under his belt.
But with Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi and Myles Lewis-Skelly already established options in midfield, is spending £100million on another central midfielder well justified?
Ayyoub Bouaddi, available for around £60million and impressing at the World Cup with Morocco, offers similar qualities for a significantly lower price.
He may not be as guaranteed a ‘hit’ than Tonali, but he arguably has a higher ceiling and crucially, he can also cover at right-back — another market Arsenal are targeting.
Meanwhile, Tonali isn’t the only player Arsenal and Tottenham could battle for, with both clubs interested in Jean-Matteo Bahoya from Eintracht Frankfurt.
But whether the Gunners’ interest in Tonali is genuine or just noise generated from his camp remains to be seen. As Sheth says, these sorts of stories rarely come out of nothing.
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