Newcastle United could unleash Sandro Tonali in dream midfield trio at Wolves


Sandro Tonali could be one step away from making his first Newcastle United start in the Premier League in 11 months.

The Italy international has been capturing the headlines in his home country after a sizzling back-heel assist in the Azzurri's 3-1 victory over France in the UEFA Nations League. Tonali surprised his manager Luciano Spalletti by completing 90 minutes in Paris but may now be asked to do so again in Budapest as Israel play their games on neutral territory due to the Israel-Gaza conflict.

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Tonali's delightful back-heeled pass which set up Federico Dimarco to fire home at the Parc des Princes on Friday night was celebrated as gleefully on Tyneside as it was on the streets of Rome as it marked another big step on his way back from his 10-month betting ban.

Newcastle have understandably been managing his minutes carefully given he had no pre-season action. Given the Italian Football Federation offered no leeway to allow Tonali to play in friendlies there is a certain irony that the 24-year-old's first back-to-back starts will come in Italy colours!

Former Napoli and AS Roma boss Spalletti said over the weekend: "We have rediscovered a great player. Sandro played a magnificent match: we were afraid he wouldn't have ninety minutes in his legs!

"And instead in the last five minutes, he gave two bursts of energy. We have found a very strong player".

"In the end, he could give us two fast starts which is scary!"

Scary could also be the word for Newcastle's fitness staff and Eddie Howe who will be refreshing their phones for news on Monday night as Italy look to keep up their winning start to the Nations League. Had the conditions of Tonali's ban not been so ridiculous that he couldn't even play in friendly games, it might have also benefited Italy even more this week!

Back-to-back starts for his country would be a big bonus for Newcastle providing he gets through unscathed of course. Is Howe ready to start him a midfield three alongside Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton?

So far he has resisted but in fairness, Sean Longstaff did nothing wrong against Tottenham Hotspur and could be considered unfortunate to be benched at Molineux. Howe dropped a hint on where he saw Tonali after his substitute appearance against Spurs in the 2-1 win.

Howe said: "Like a number of our players, he’s got some work to do. He’ll be pleased with his two contributions – the contribution he made on Wednesday, which was really good, and then today again.

"A Premier League game was very different to the Nottingham Forest game. When he came onto the pitch we were in need of a spark."

If a Premier League game is different to a Carabao Cup game, what about to high-octane international fixtures in the Nations League with few fixtures being played like the "glorified friendlies" many expected them to be? Howe's decision will be whether Tonali is the best bet after a demanding 10 days with Italy or whether Longstaff is worthy of keeping the ex-AC Milan star out for at least another game.