Spurs' Tonali hunt shows chasm Newcastle must bridge

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Newcastle United signed Sandro Tonali from AC Milan for £55m in 2023 By Ciaran Kelly Newcastle United reporter Published 12 minutes ago Aston Villa 's 2024-25 end-of-season awards dinner was in full swing when Damian Vidagany took to the stage. Villa's director of football operations had a message for Arsenal , Manchester City , Manchester United , Liverpool , Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur . "There is no big six anymore," he declared to loud cheers 12 months ago. Such a sentiment will have plenty of support on Tyneside. Just as Aston Villa disrupted the established order to qualify for the Champions League in 2024 and 2026, so too did Newcastle United in 2023 and 2025. Yet the league's highest-earning clubs have hardly withered in the face of the challenge from outside the six, and Spurs' pursuit of Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali is a reminder of that. Just weeks after Roberto de Zerbi's side narrowly avoided relegation on the final day, they are trying to lure one of Newcastle 's best players to North London. 'Very difficult to attract players we wanted' Newcastle hardly had a stellar season themselves - finishing a disappointing 12th place - but the difference is Spurs have greater revenues to fall back on as they try to bounce back come August. Spurs' most recent financial accounts showed they generated £230m more in income than Newcastle in 2024-25. As a result, Spurs could offer far superior wages to Tonali and make a meaty bid of about £80m for the Italy midfielder - yet stay within the game's financial rules. That bid was unsuccessful and although Manchester City and Arsenal have yet to come to the table, Newcastle will be in a strong position to command a bigger fee if several teams make offers. However, if Tonali does go, Newcastle will have lost three of their four best players in the space of a year after Alexander Isak was sold to Liverpool for £125m and Anthony Gordon moved to Barcelona for £69m. Newcastle have had to become better sellers following years of imbalanced trading, but it still feels a world away from the feeling around the club going into last summer. Eddie Howe and his players had not long ended a 70-year wait to win a major domestic trophy by defeating Liverpool in the EFL Cup final. Newcastle had secured Champions League football for the second time in three seasons. They had a degree of financial headroom again following several windows of relative parsimony. Yet it was still a struggle for Newcastle to land their top targets - let alone keep hold of Isak. "It was very difficult to attract the players that we wanted, that we felt could really make a difference to the team," Howe said last month. "I certainly don't think that challenge is going to be easier. It's going to be harder." Howe's development pitch to new signings Those words proved rather prophetic. Newcastle managed to sign highly rated goalkeeper Ewen Jaouen from Stade de Reims for £18.5m before the win