Sandro Tonali breaks silence on Newcastle exit rumours in Sky Sports interview

Since deadline day in the January transfer window (which was actually in February), there has been constant speculation over the future of Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali.

The Italian was reported as being the subject of a deadline day approach from Arsenal. As quickly as the rumours surfaced, they were rubbished by both camps, but that's all it took to open the floodgates.

Since then, barely a day has gone by that there hasn't been a story suggesting that he's unhappy, or he's looking to leave or that another club is looking to mount a bid in the summer.

The biggest driver of these rumours has been Giuseppe Riso, Tonali's own agent. Whether he's meant to or not, the things he's said publicly have only added fuel to the fire.

Sandro Tonali is focused on Newcastle

In an interview with Sky Sports, Sandro Tonali has finally addressed the noise. Keith Downie provided an extract of quotes on social media on Friday before the interview airs on TV on Saturday.

“I don’t look at social media, I don’t like it. After my ban I changed everything with social media, I just go to training and then go home and be with my family. My life is much better now. 

“In football if you play well you have to deal with the transfer rumours, but if you concentrate 100% on your game, and you’re happy, you don’t have to think about anything or speak about anything.”

We're no further forward

Eddie Howe hinted on Friday morning that after speaking to Tonali about his future, the Italian went about his job as normal, and given the gaffer has said that if a player isn't 100% committed to the club, they simply won't play, it suggests that there's nothing to worry about with Tonali.

That being said, Newcastle need to sell at least one big player in the summer to fund a rebuild, and they'll be very aware that there's interest out there, so it doesn't mean that Tonali's future is secure.

All we can really take from this is that, as we already suspected, Tonali isn't pushing for a move away. Just because he's not pushing doesn't mean he's staying, though. So, for all it was good of Tonali to address the noise, we're not actually any further forward as a result.

If he's annoyed by the speculation, though, maybe he should tell his agent to zip his lips.