Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe has, on Friday, pleaded with the club’s fanbase to maintain patience with a key member of the Magpies’ summer recruitment drive.
The player in question? Sandro Tonali.
In something of a bolt from the blue, Italian international Tonali, of course, opted to take his talents to St. James’ Park back in July, in a big-money move from his beloved AC Milan.
Since, the 23-year-old has gone on to play a central role for his new club, featuring from the off in all but one of Newcastle’s fixtures across all competitions to date.
On the back of a couple of hit-and-miss recent performances, though, calls, albeit amongst small groups, have begun to spread for Tonali to up his game.
Speaking to the media on Friday, the subject of his newest midfield addition’s form, and best position, were therefore put to the aforementioned Eddie Howe.
‘Not in my opinion, no,’ Newcastle’s boss responded, when questioned on whether or not he feels his squad is is need of another defensive midfield presence. ‘We’ve got three players who can play that position, so I didn’t want to add a fourth.’
On Tonali, Howe continued:
‘I want him to be himself, which is an outstanding technician, a very good athlete,’ he said. ‘For me, he can play all of the positions in midfield. But we need to give him time. I don’t think we can judge him, or any signings, within a month. Let’s take our time and be patient, because I know the quality of the player that we have.’
He added: ‘There is no doubt we can get the best out of him. In the short period of time he has been here, his performance against Aston Villa was high level. There was no surprise that performance came when he’d been with us for pre-season, which is four-and-a-bit weeks of intense work getting to know his team-mates.
‘Since then, he has hardly trained with us – internationals, injury. I think he has had one training session in near enough a month, which then gives you a clue. That is tough for any new player transitioning into a team. You need to train regularly.
‘He is adapting well. He is an incredible personality, stable, committed to the project here and he will grow as time goes on.’
✍️ Eddie Howe says Sandro Tonali should be given time to show his best self
6⃣ He rejects suggestion of needing No.6 & believes Tonali can play there
🇮🇹 Also reveals Italian has trained only once with team-mates in past month
🟢 @MailSport story 👇https://t.co/eMeNswtLRu
— Craig Hope (@CraigHope_DM) September 22, 2023
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