Tottenham Hotspur just pulled off one of the wilder moves of the summer transfer window. They agreed to a £100 million deal with Newcastle United for midfielder Sandro Tonali. And yeah, Arsenal wanted him too. But the Gunners walked away.
The reason? Money. Specifically, the kind of money Tonali and his camp were asking for. According to ChronicleLive’s Lee Ryder, Arsenal decided the wage demands and agent fees made the deal a non-starter. Turns out, they weren’t willing to pay Tonali £275,000 a week — nearly double what he was making at Newcastle.
Tottenham was. So now he’s a Spur.
What Arsenal passed on
Mikel Arteta wanted reinforcements in midfield. Tonali, 26, has been one of the Premier League’s most consistent performers since joining Newcastle from AC Milan. He’s physical, reads the game well, can dictate tempo. That’s exactly the kind of player Arsenal’s system needs. But the math didn’t work for them, and they let Spurs take the financial risk.
Spurs are paying an initial £92.5 million with another £7.5 million in add-ons. They originally offered £85 million two weeks ago. Newcastle held firm, and eventually Tottenham blinked first — and paid up.
The bigger picture in North London
This is not a one-off splurge for Spurs. They already dropped £85 million on West Ham’s Mateus Fernandes earlier this summer. Add Tonali to that, and you’ve got two massive midfield signings in one window. That’s a statement. Manager Roberto De Zerbi has already brought in Martin Dubravka, Marcos Senesi, Andy Robertson and Jan Paul van Hecke last month. The squad is being rebuilt from the ground up.
And honestly, they needed it. Tottenham almost got relegated last season while Arsenal won the Premier League. Watching your bitter rival lift the trophy while you’re fighting to stay up? That sticks with you. Spurs are clearly trying to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
What this means for the new season
De Zerbi and sporting director Johan Lange have been working closely on identifying targets. They want players who can push Tottenham back into contention. The attack is still an area they’re looking to strengthen, so don’t expect the spending to stop here.
For Arsenal, missing out on Eberechi Eze last summer and now losing Tonali to Spurs stings. But they held their line on the wages and agent fees. Whether that discipline pays off or backfires remains to be seen. For now, Spurs get the Italian, Arsenal gets to watch, and the Premier League gets another layer of rivalry drama.
The 2026-27 season can’t start soon enough.
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