The agent of one of Newcastle United’s star players, who Eddie Howe adores, says it’s “impossible to think” that he won’t leave St. James’ Park in the future.
Newcastle braced for Isak interest as Ornstein drops update
Alexander Isak has been one of the Premier League’s star players this season, with his goals putting the Magpies well in the race for Champions League football. Unsurprisingly, his stellar performances have seen him linked with a number of Europe’s biggest clubs, most notably Arsenal, who are hot on the tail of the Swedish striker.
Amid worries that the club could soon lose its talisman, The Athletic’s David Ornstein has provided an update on Isak’s future that will, at least somewhat, ease those concerns.
Ornstein revealed that Liverpool are the latest in a long line of clubs to assert their interest in the former Real Sociedad man, but that Newcastle are not considering selling up.
“Liverpool aren’t alone in liking the Swede. We know Mikel Arteta wants to sign him, Chelsea and Barcelona have also been linked, and I’m sure many other sides would be keen, too, if the opportunity arose,” he said.
“But that’s a big ‘if’. Newcastle have no intention of selling their best player and, understandably, don’t welcome this kind of conversation,” Ornstein explained, adding that only an offer of around £150 million would be enough to steal Isak away from Tyneside – a fee far too big for most, if not all, clubs in world football.
“Newcastle hold the aces here and their plan will be to build with, rather than without, him,” he said.
Tonali to one day return to Italy, claims agent
While Newcastle may be planning for the future with Isak, one man they may have to make do without is Sandro Tonali.
The Italian midfielder, who joined the Magpies in 2023 from AC Milan, has been another of Howe’s star players since returning from his ban for illegal betting activity in September, starting the majority of Newcastle’s games and impressing with his elegant performances in the middle of the park.
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He’s got the potential to become a Premier League superstar in the years to come.
Tonali’s agent, Marianna Meccacci, however, has now revealed that her client will one day return to his home country amid interest from his former club AC Milan and Juventus.
“He will return to Italy. When? It’s hard to say,” she told Sportitalia‘s Di Tutto un Pod podcast, per Sports Witness. “He is an Italian footballing asset.
“As long as the opportunity of the Premier League is there, he will take advantage of it, but it is impossible to think that he’ll not return to Italian football.”
Howe is, of course, just one of those who wouldn’t want that to happen. Earlier this year, the Magpies head coach said that Tonali has been “everything that I hoped he would be and more” since returning to action.
“I think he’s really improving all the time. The training he did in between with the ban, I hoped would pay dividends for him long-term. But without that match stimulus, I think it was always difficult to see how much he had evolved and changed during that time.
“Now, we’re seeing that there’s real growth in his performances.”
