SANDRO TONALI reportedly broke down in tears when he was told AC Milan were selling him to Newcastle.
Eddie Howe’s side have been chasing the 23-year-old Italian international over the past few days.
Sandro Tonali is believed to of cried when told he was being sold to NewcastleRex
ReutersHe wanted to emulate AC Milan legend Paolo Maldini[/caption]
They had an initial £43m bid rejected by Milan for the defensive midfielder.
However, it has been reported that he has agreed a six-year package with Newcastle.
All that remains to be sorted in the fee. It is thought the Magpies have offered £60m with a further £4.3m in add-ons as a deal appears close.
However, it is thought that Tonali was less than impressed with the news as La Repubblica have reported that he was left emotional after being told he was to leave the club.
The report claims that Tonali had wanted to spend the remainder of his career at his boyhood club, AC Milan.
It goes as far as to say that he had hoped to emulate the success of club legend Paolo Maldini.
However, it is also suggested that Newcastle will “quadruple” his salary to convince him to move to St James’ Park.
Talks are believed to have been completed between the Premier League side and the player’s representatives on Wednesday.
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Newcastle fans got a glimpse of what Tonali can bring on Thursday as he pulled the strings for his country in their U21 Euro opener against France.
He caused numerous problems for Les Bleus with his range of set-pieces all night, and his pinpoint curling free-kick found the head of Pietro Pellegri to finish and make it 1-1.
France would eventually run out 2-1 winners but the Toon Army could not contain their excitement over the incoming ace.
Tonali came through the ranks with Brescia and broke into their first-team as a teenager as they won Serie B in 2019.
The ace continued to shine in the top-flight before Milan swooped to sign him initially on loan in the 2020/21 campaign.
That move was made permanent at the end of that season and he has made over 100 appearances for the club since, helping them to Serie A title success 12 months ago.
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