Romano confirms big change to Man Utd midfield signing plans as full Tonali truths emerge

Manchester United are no longer pursuing a confirmed midfield target with the same vigour, with Fabrizio Romano revealing all on the club’s plans for a major addition that could be Sandro Tonali.

Man Utd will revamp their engine room next summer, with one and more probably two new faces arriving. It’s been well documented Carlos Baleba, Elliot Anderson and Adam Wharton are keenly admired by Old Trafford chiefs, while a recent report from The Telegraph insisted Sandro Tonali can now be added to that high calibre shortlist.

TEAMtalk understands Tonali is open to leaving Newcastle in the summer and his preference is to return to Italy.

Juventus dream of bringing the 25-year-old back to his homeland, but the £100m or so it’ll take to seal a deal with Newcastle will prove extremely troublesome for the Turin club.

The Magpies believe a nine-figure fee is more than fair given Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo and Declan Rice have all moved for fees in excess of £100m over the past few years. Tonali is in that category of player.

That stance leaves the door ajar for the Premier League’s big hitters to strike, with Arsenal and now Man Utd heavily linked over the past few days.

Taking to YouTube late on Monday night, trusted reporter, Fabrizio Romano, gave his take on what will happen at Man Utd in the summer and what’s in store for Tonali.

And perhaps the biggest revelation to emerge from his assessment was the claim Brighton’s Baleba was the player Man Utd would have pursued with the greatest intensity if Ruben Amorim were still in charge.

But with the Portuguese relieved of his duties, Baleba is no longer the number one target at Old Trafford, which brings a blockbuster move for Tonali very much into play.

“On Sandro Tonali, it’s going to be an important summer, a huge summer probably for him” began Romano.

“Around the end of March to April, there will be conversations between Tonali’s camp and Newcastle about the future.

“Let’s see how Newcastle react, but there is a possibility Tonali considers a new chapter for his career in summer 2026.

“There is interest from Italy, Juventus dream of Tonali but this could be very expensive, so complicated.

“Then there are Premier League clubs. Arsenal interested, for sure. Manchester United, many have asked me about the links and there is an appreciation of Tonali by Man Utd, but he’s not the only midfielder on their list.

“What I’m hearing is Man Utd have several names and in order to decide who is going to be the player they sign – and it could be two midfielders in the summer, because Casemiro is going, [Manuel Ugarte let’s see what happens – in that case, Man Utd wait to see first if they’ll play Champions League football, and second, who’s going to be the manager.

“So before Man Utd decide which midfielder they want, we have to wait. With Amorim the name was Carlos Baleba. That was the top target.

“Now Amorim is gone and so let’s see what happens with Carrick or any other manager Man Utd appoint in the summer.

“Internally, Tonali is appreciated, but it’s not clear yet who is going to be the top target.”

On Arsenal’s interest in Tonali, the transfer guru added: “He’s on the list. Arsenal want to add a midfielder in the summer window, that’s the plan at the club as of today.”

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