MILAN – After the amore, a realisation for Newcastle. They need more from Sandro Tonali if their season is to truly get lift off.
After the qualified success of the San Siro the next fortnight has the potential to make or break Newcastle’s campaign. They have the steadied the ship after three successive defeats, getting back to basics with a couple of clean sheets, but will be expected to win at relegation favourites Sheffield United on Sunday.
Then it’s Manchester City in the League Cup, a competition they have aspirations of winning. Pep Guardiola is threatening to play his “second team” to cope with an injury crisis so it’s far from a write off, even if unbeaten City have swaggered through the season so far. Burnley at home follows before Kylian Mbappe and Paris Saint German visit St James’ Park, all in the space of a few days. They will either be chasing their tails or chasing their dreams by the end of that run.
It is the sort of pressure Newcastle craved and exactly why they stretched their budget to sign Tonali, who was the most popular man in Milan for 24 hours. There aren’t many boyhood supporters who leave the bosom of their boyhood club and actually enhance their reputation but it speaks volumes for Tonali’s undoubted class that he is one.
“One of our own” was what the Curva Sud sang at him and afterwards he reciprocated the praise, telling Sky Sports part of his heart would always belong to Milan.
Perhaps the most uncomfortable chunk of the day for him came in the 72 minutes between his name being sung and the standing ovation from all four corners of the ground. Whisper it quietly, but here was another game in black and white that seemed to largely pass him by.
When the visiting North East press corps discussed it, a local reporter’s eyes widened in disbelief at the criticism. But the rolling debate on Tyneside is whether Tonali as part of a midfield three works in the club’s current engine room set up, especially as it seems to have also dimmed the influence of Bruno Guimaraes, asked to mop up in a sort of hybrid holding midfielder role.
A stat flashed up midway through the first half that told its own story. Tonali had the second fewest touches of any player in the game (20). Milan’s underemployed goalkeeper Mike Maignan was the only one behind him with 18.
Howe loved his defensive discipline and game IQ, pointing out that he managed the emotion of his return well. But Newcastle did not spend £55m to make him the most expensive Italian footballer in history simply to operate on the margins. When the big games arrive this autumn, they need him to affect matches more.
Tonali was honest enough at the start of the week to say he has struggled in the early stages of his Newcastle career, and not just because he ended up supping in Wetherspoons after a tongue-in-cheek recommendation from his new teammates. He is said by dressing room insiders to be a quiet character, displaying his authority on the field rather than be raging behind-closed-doors.
There was some surprise on Tyneside that he went straight into the team when other big money signings have been integrated gradually. But having taken a big punt on Tonali – and it was Howe who drove the deal – he clearly thought he couldn’t afford to keep him wrapped in cotton wool.
While Tonali is still clearly settling in at St James’ Park – the club have laid on an interpreter to help him acclimatise – it is the system that probably needs tweaking.
A 4-2-3-1, utilised last season with some success, might draw more from Tonali and Guimaraes. Perhaps the return of the underrated Joe Willock might also help, for he is that special kind of player who combines the unfussy, underappreciated mopping up midfield work with the art of darting into the opposition penalty area from deep.
Howe praised Tonali’s performance and mentality in Milan, saying he “represented himself well”. But then he perhaps betrayed his true feelings with the admission that: “I know there’s more to come from him.”
With such big games on the horizon for Newcastle, it needs to arrive sooner rather than later.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/qn89DYe
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