Newcastle in stronger position with Sandro Tonali than Isak, says Howe

The 25-year-old Tonali, who served a ten-month ban for breaking gambling rules in Italy, would certainly not be short of suitors. Manchester City, Chelsea and perhaps even Arsenal would be among those in this country, not to mention the major clubs in Europe who would show interest if he were to become available.

Howe, however, was keen to shoot down any talk of a repeat of the soap opera with Isak, in which the player went on strike, trained on his own and finally pushed through his move to Anfield after insisting he would never play for the club again.

When asked what the club had learnt from that situation — one which left them scrambling for replacements and ended with them spending such a significant amount (£260million) that there was no room for investment in the window that has just closed — he said: “That’s a deep question. Probably a lot, but, you know, stuff that’s above me, I think.

“In the summer we didn’t have a sporting director, which massively impacted our way of working in terms of dealing with agents and dealing with that situation.

“We were in a more vulnerable position than we are now. Obviously Ross [Wilson] has filled that position and is showing really good leadership, dealing with transfers and all the things that that entails so I think we’re in a stronger position now to navigate those waters in a much calmer, clearer way.”

Tonali’s situation feels complicated given that he has spoken of the debt he owes Howe and Newcastle for the way they looked after him during his gambling ban, and their help with his rehabilitation, which came so soon after he had moved to St James’ Park for £52million. He took a voluntary pay cut and quietly signed a one-year extension to his existing deal.

He did, however, speak of the uncertainty of a footballer’s life in November and when he was asked about his long-term future then, replied: “This is a tough question because, you know [in] football you need to think year for year. The last summer was tough for us, for Alex [Isak], but this is football. If you have an option for your life, for another team you need to think about everything.

“I don’t want to say, ‘Yes, I want to stay here ten years’ but now I’m happy here. I don’t think anything about another team.”

Tonali is one of the best-paid players at Newcastle, with a contract worth about £150,000 a week. That is still limited because of Newcastle’s endless battle to stay within the limitations of Profitability and Sustainability Rules, which meant they were unable to strengthen their first team in a transfer window for the fourth time in the past five windows.

Howe said he felt encouraged by his meeting with the player.

“Sandro is absolutely fine,” he said. “I had discussions with Sandro yesterday [Monday] and he is totally focused on the here, the now and playing for us. His only focus talking to him yesterday is Manchester City and to win that game. There is absolutely no issue with Sandro himself. He is very happy and he is committed.

“I find it difficult to talk about things I don’t know too much about [if he was offered to Arsenal]. I can only talk about Sandro, as far as I’m aware, we’ve got a player that’s an outstanding footballer, an outstanding person.

“He’s very happy here, he’s got a great relationship with me, his team-mates, but our best players will always be attracting glances from other clubs, that’s just the reality of football.

“We want to keep the group together, we want to keep being progressive and of course Sandro plays a part in that. I don’t see an issue, but as I say, I’m not in control of everything.”

Howe confirmed that Newcastle never intended to be big players in the window that has just closed. “There was no intention to recruit in January,” he added.

Newcastle head to the Etihad for the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final on Wednesday, trailing 2-0 and having not scored in their past seven visits to the stadium.

“It is going to be an almighty challenge but we believe in ourselves,” Howe said.

Manchester City (2) v Newcastle United (0)

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