£40m Man Utd target’s ‘fate is almost sealed’, says Brescia president

Sandro Tonali TEAMtalk

Sandro Tonali’s “fate is almost sealed” this summer, according to Brescia president Massimo Cellino.

A number of Europe’s top clubs, including Manchester United, have been linked with a bid for the classy midfielder, who has previously revealed his love for all things Milan.

United were said to be pursuing a £40m move for Tonali last January, however an official bid never materialised.

The 20-year-old midfielder has impressed in his first season in Serie A and former Leeds chief Cellino  has accepted that Tonali will leave this summer.

“I fall in love with certain players and I would never want to sell them,” Cellino told Il Corriere dello Sport. “Building a good team around him, a team of satisfactions, was my dream.

“But I realise, however, that the boy has important personal targets, a family that supports him, especially the mother.”

Cellino suggests that Tonali will move to one of the Italian giants this summer, but he says he has had offers from Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona.

“Nasser would like to have him in Paris, he wrote me today,” Cellino added. “But he [Tonali] doesn’t want to go to France.

“He prefers Inter and Juve. [Napoli President Aurelio] De Laurentiis has offered me €40m, Fiorentina are ready to do whatever it takes, but his fate is more or less sealed.

 

 

 

“Before the coronavirus, Barcelona had arrived at €65m plus two very interesting guys valued €7.5m each, one was a defender.

“I think the Catalan leaders received an answer they didn’t like. And not from Tonali. Sandro is a kid who lights up as soon as he sees a ball. On the pitch, I have seen him do impressive things, in a three-man midfield he can play anywhere.

“His personality… He sacrifices himself for his team, before the suspension he had been hiding an inflammation in his quadriceps from me. He wanted to help his teammates. When we realised, we had to force him to stop.”

AC Milan are believed to be one of the clubs in the running for the player’s signature, as Calciomercato.com reported in September that Milan had a €15-20m summer bid for Tonali rejected.

However, Monday’s Italian daily newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport says Inter wish to complete the signing of the deep-lying midfielder before pursuing moves for other transfer targets.