Asked in a press conference as to the current situation, in light of the rumours that the Italian might well be looking for pastures new, Magpies manager, Eddie Howe, was unequivocal.
Three-season itch for Tonali?
"There's no intention from our side to lose Sandro. He's such an integral player to what we're doing."
Though the timing seems odd on the face of it, when one considers that the silky midfield talent has never stayed at a club longer than three seasons in his career, there's more than a hint of agent interference at play, it seems.
Three seasons at Brescia were followed by three more at AC Milan, and at the end of the 2025/26 campaign, he will have completed his third season with Newcastle, notwithstanding the games that he missed because of an FA ban.
Given that the Magpies still appear to be going places, for one of their star players to essentially then allow himself to be touted around European football's storied clubs is an odd one indeed.
With seven goals and eight assists to his name in a Newcastle shirt, encompassing 92 appearances in all competitions, there's a reasonably cogent argument that, given all of Tonali's evident footballing gifts, he hasn't really brought enough to the party in the North East in any event. A case of unfinished business you might say.
Whilst it's accepted that goalscoring isn't his primary concern, roughly a goal every 13 games isn't something to write home about.
Could be better going forward
In terms of the way he gets about the pitch and his distribution, the Italian has, however, been lauded for his passing range.
Indeed, since joining the Magpies, his overall pass completion stats have almost always been in the mid to high 80s percentage-wise.
But to drill down into the detail a little further, it reveals a surprising anomaly.
Where Tonali is expected to go about his best work - in the opposition half of the pitch - his accuracy takes a dip. Though in some seasons he has still posted figures as high as 85.2%, they've also gone down as low as 61.5%.
Further, he has only been successful in 18 of his 81 attempted crosses, and even the 73 corners that he's taken have only found a teammate on 21 occasions.
Tenacity in the tackle
At least he has shown some tenacity in the tackle, where he's won 71 of the 108 he's attempted in a black and white shirt, whilst winning 78 of his 140 one-on-one duels in the Premier League this season has given him a healthy 55.7% success rate.
Certainly, improvements can and will need to be made in various areas, but when working for a progressive manager such as Howe, there's a valid expectation that he and his backroom staff will already have a plan on how to get the best out of the 25-year-old.
Notwithstanding that the rumours surrounding Tonali appear to centre on him wanting to return to Italy, something that Flashscore's transfer insider Dean Jones has covered in depth, there's the small matter of any fee to be agreed, and not to mention a salary package commensurate with what he earns on Tyneside.
At present, Tonali takes home a basic salary (not including bonuses) of £150,000 per week, which isn't beyond clubs such as Arsenal, who have also been mentioned in dispatches.
Can Serie A clubs really afford Tonali?
However, assuming Serie A is where the player wants to be, and were Juventus, for example, to firm up any potential interest, even at the current rate of remuneration it would immediately install Tonali as the third-highest earner in the squad.
That's always assuming that the Bianconeri and/or any other Serie A side could afford to put their hands in club coffers in the first place to the tune of £70m upwards in transfer fees.
With the playing output already mentioned above taken into account, one has to then consider if he's actually worth that kind of spend, with respect.
If this whole scenario does actually turn out to be of Tonali's agent's own doing, perhaps even with a view of putting Newcastle owners PIF on the spot, it's a dangerous game to be playing.
Howe: "He's very happy here"
Howe has certainly never seemed to be anything other than truthful or genuine in his press conferences.
"He's very happy here. He loves playing for Newcastle," the manager said before the Carabao Cup semi-final against Man City.
"Lots of things happen without my knowledge, but he's very happy here and has a great relationship with me and his teammates. We want to keep the group together, and Sandro plays a part in that. I had discussions with him (after the rumours came out) and he's absolutely fine and committed."
You can never say never in football, of course, but Sandro Tonali really does need to think long and hard about what he wants from his career before making any rash decisions - whether they're agent-driven or otherwise.
