Sandro Tonali has opened up about his £100 million ($133 million) move to Tottenham Hotspur from Newcastle this summer, naming head coach Roberto De Zerbi as a key figure in the transfer.
In a roundtable interview with reporters from The Athletic, BBC Sport and other outlets, Tonali spoke about his connection to De Zerbi via their shared hometown of Brescia in Italy, how he plans to deal with the pressure that comes with his price tag, and his hopes for Spurs this upcoming season.
Speaking about being in Brescia during this summer's off-season, and meeting with De Zerbi there, Tonali said:
"Brescia is so small. I spent two weeks there, and [De Zerbi] as well. I met him two or three times in the city, with the car. But not just him. I met my old team manager in Brescia. [And] I met Roberto Baggio twice.
"I spoke with him [De Zerbi] when he was [managing] in Sassuolo, and at Brighton and Marseille; we spoke every time, because we are Italian, we are from Brescia, and it's a mini-connection together."
During Spurs' preseason tour of Australia and New Zealand, De Zerbi revealed that on the day Spurs officially retained Premier League status with a win over Everton on the final day of the 2025-26 season, he reached out to Tonali and told him that he wanted to speak with him. De Zerbi said that, a few days later, the two of them met in Brescia.
Tonali told reporters that it didn't take long -- only 10 minutes -- for him to be convinced that a move to Spurs would be the right one for him.
"I spoke with Tottenham," the former AC Milan midfielder said. "When you speak with one team, the first impression is a big thing. My first impression was really positive. I spoke after two minutes with my wife and my family, and I said, 'Probably it will be one of the best decisions of my career'.
"She told me, 'You have 100 per cent control over this decision'. I wanted to speak with her because it's our life. So my first impression was really positive. When you are happy after a 10-minute speech, it's everything, everything is perfect.
"The gaffer was Italian, Roberto. I knew him. Roberto really cares about his work, his football. He said, 'The project will be tough but will be perfect for me, for you, for the city, and we can do one of the best seasons, because we have big players. We just have to put a lot of work in'."
Tonali has joined a Tottenham side with plenty of fellow Italians in it, including Destiny Udogie and Guglielmo Vicario. A number of De Zerbi's backroom staff are fellow countrymen, too, and Tonali has said the presence of his compatriots in north London has been comforting.
"It's nice. So many staff, three Italian players...It's funny because sometimes we speak more Italian than English.
"But it's fine, because I was at Newcastle for three years and I spoke just English for three years! I only spoke Italian in my house with my wife. So it was a bit different."
Tonali also said that, despite wanting a move away, he also wanted to make sure that Newcastle got the best deal possible for him when he departed.
"The first thing was to get the best deal for Newcastle. I met there some of the best people for football, for their work in the training ground.
"When I decided to move, I told my agent and [sporting director] Ross Wilson that I wanted the best deal for Newcastle because they deserve everything, and if I have to move, then I can say hello to you or Eddie [Howe] in two or three years. If we meet in 10 years, I want to have a good dinner with the staff, with Ross, because they are very great people."
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It was confirmed to ESPN by sources on Thursday that Eddie Howe is set to leave his role as Newcastle head coach after five years in charge.
Tonali's arrival at Spurs has been seen by many as a statement signing. Before then, Spurs had never spent £100m on any player -- despite many of the other 'Big Six' doing so in recent years -- and Tonali is considered one of the best midfielders in the Premier League.
Spurs plucking one of Newcastle's best players from them, just days after snapping up the signature of highly-rated Mateus Fernandes from West Ham for £85m ($112m), represented a major shift in Spurs' transfer policy.
Tonali is aware that being signed for such a high fee will mean that there may be pressure on him to perform from the get go.
"If I was another player, sometimes it's tough, sometimes the pressure is different, but you have to understand that this is football," he said. "The price is different now than 10 years ago.
"I know I have a lot of pressure, but I know I'm a football player, I know my responsibilities, I know this team, I know the people here. I have to play like I'm a normal player, a normal Tottenham player, with passion, putting my energy in every day.
"If you put this into the pitch every day, it's different; it's not £1million, £10m, or £100m. You just have to be a passionate player for this gaffer. Put everything onto the pitch."
Tottenham continue their preseason against fierce rivals Chelsea on Aug. 1 in Sydney. After games against Getafe and Hoffenheim, they will kick off their Premier League season against Brentford on Aug. 22.