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."
Sandro Tonali joined Tottenham in a club-record deal earlier in July. He is excited to get the season underway with the north London club. Brendon Thorne/Getty Images 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'."