Sandro Tonali’s Future: Inside Tonali’s Newcastle Situation as Exit Talk Builds

Newcastle United’s record signing Sandro Tonali could be heading for the exit door in summer 2026, with his agent Giuseppe Riso set to hold pivotal talks with club executives in March. The £60 million midfielder’s long-term future on Tyneside has been thrown into doubt after a sequence of behind-the-scenes developments that suggest both player and club are weighing their options.

Riso confirmed to OneFootball that he will “sit down with Newcastle around March to plan the future,” a statement that has fuelled speculation that Tonali could be moved on little more than two years after his headline-grabbing arrival from AC Milan. While no deal is imminent, sources close to the club acknowledge that Newcastle fear losing the Italy international when the next summer window opens.

The backdrop to the planned summit is a swirl of rumour and counter-rumour. On the recent winter deadline day, stories emerged that Arsenal had been offered the 25-year-old. Newcastle officials immediately branded the reports “ambitious and untrue,” insisting no negotiations took place. Tonali’s representatives issued an identical denial. Yet transfer insider Graeme Bailey has since claimed there was a brief, informal conversation between the player’s camp and Arsenal, muddying the waters over how close any switch ever came to fruition.

Tonali himself is understood to have no firm preference between Arsenal and Juventus should a move materialise, leaving the field open for a potential auction. Juventus, long-term admirers of the midfielder, have already drawn up a detailed plan for how they would integrate him into Massimiliano Allegri’s squad, according to sources in Turin.

Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe has attempted to draw a line under the uncertainty, stating unequivocally that the club has “no intention” of selling the player. “The club has no intention to sell Sandro Tonali despite deadline day reports that suggested he may have been the subject of interest from Arsenal,” Howe reiterated earlier this week. The manager’s stance is underpinned by the fact that Tonali remains under contract and has started the majority of matches when fit this season.

However, tension surfaced after Newcastle’s Carabao Cup quarter-final defeat to Manchester City on 5 February, when Tonali is said to have voiced frustration to members of the backroom staff over his tactical role. While the conversation has been described as private and professional, it has added another layer of intrigue ahead of the March discussions.

For Newcastle’s part, the numbers are stark. They invested a club-record fee to secure Tonali’s signature and still view him as a central pillar of the project under the club’s Saudi-backed ownership. Yet the prospect of recouping a significant portion of that outlay, combined with the need to balance the books under Premier League profitability rules, means no scenario can be ruled out if the player agitates for a fresh start.

The timeline is now set: Riso and Newcastle will meet in March to map the way forward. If an agreement cannot be reached on squad status, ambitions and contractual reassurances, the summer of 2026 could see one of the Premier League’s most expensive midfielders on the move again. Until then, Tonali remains a Newcastle player, but the clock is ticking on a saga that has all the hallmarks of a long-running transfer story.