Cellino confirms €35m Italy starlet snubbed Man Utd despite bigger offer
Brescia president Massimo Cellino has revealed that Sandro Tonali has turned down a move to Manchester United.
Tonali is one of the biggest prospects in Italian football, having earned comparisons to Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso.
And with Brescia suffering relegation from Serie A this year, he is ready to move on. A number of clubs have shown an interest in him – including Manchester United.
In fact, reports emerged recently that United wanted to gazump any rival offers for the midfielder. However, Tonali is now closing in on a move to AC Milan.
Former Leeds supremo Cellino has now revealed that United’s offer was bigger than Milan’s, but the player’s will was decisive.
“In January we received an offer of €65 million from Barcelona,” Cellino told Top Calcio 24. “Not later than 10 days ago we received an offer of 10 million higher than Milan’s from Manchester United.
“But the boy was determined to go to the Rossoneri.
“I know that [Antonio] Conte has thought a lot about Tonali, but I was also convinced that he was going to Inter.
“But at a certain point the boy didn’t want to hear anything anymore and went to Milan.”
According to Gazzetta Dello Sport, Milan will pay Brescia a fee of €10m to take Tonali on loan for the season. They will have an option to buy for a further €15m, with a possible €10m in bonuses.
Brescia will also have a sell-on clause for Tonali, guaranteeing them 10% of any price over €30m.
Solskjaer explains Van De Beek addition
Instead, Man Utd have signed Donny Van De Beek from Ajax to strengthen their midfield. The Dutchman put pen to paper on a five-year contract on Wednesday.
After sealing the deal, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer explained what Van De Beek will bring at Old Trafford.
“Donny has all of the technical attributes needed to perform in this team and has the personality required to succeed at Manchester United,” he said.
“His ability to see space, time his movements and read the game will really complement the qualities that we have in midfield and his arrival really strengthens the depth of talent we have in that position.”
And Van De Beek himself vowed to perform at “the highest level”, admitting that he finds the United project “exciting”.