Exams in Romania, then he will be Premier. 70 million deal with bonus and resale. The player gets 8 million a season
North, further and further north. From Milan to Romania, where he is playing the Under 21 European Championship. From Romania to England. From London to Newcastle, still up, so far north that England is almost Scotland. Sandro Tonali played his last match as a Milan player last night and, with all the cynicism in the world, he makes an impression. Milan and Newcastle have almost closed their negotiation: last night there were no final agreements on details and the green light from RedBird. The road, however, is traced. Tonali will undergo medical tests today for Newcastle in Romania, where his agents Giuseppe Riso and Marianna Mecacci will be present. The transfer will mark the turning point of this AC Milan transfer market. Newcastle will pay a sum close to 70 million plus bonuses and a percentage on the resale. In Tonali a six-year contract worth 8 million per season plus bonuses. Total, fifty.
Negotiation
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Milan yesterday hosted the decisive stages of the negotiation. At Palazzo Parigi, a hotel famous for having been the base of Fabio Paratici’s Juve, sporting director Dan Ashworth and scout chief Steve Nickson. Newcastle made their last moves there, even if most of it was definitely done: Tonali’s yes and Milan’s go-ahead, which thus changes its transfer market. He loses the captain of the future and one of the leaders of the present, in exchange he has 70-80 million to invest according to the new line of Giorgio Furlani and Geoffrey Moncada. Thus a June of sensational farewells is completed, which began with greetings to Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the break with Paolo Maldini and Ricky Massara.
Sandro and the Premier
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Tonali at Newcastle hurts the fans and makes it clear how far the new course is from the Maldini-Massara era. Milan, this has been understood for some time, does not say no to important offers and against the Premier League, these days, there is no competition. Impossible not to think about what happened a year ago, when Milan bet on Botman – the first objective of their transfer campaign – and abandoned him in the face of a raise of around 40 million from Newcastle. Double hit 12 months apart. Tonali will now play for black and white – how strange to see him in those colors – and will create a very fascinating pairing with Bruno Guimaraes, a Brazilian, three years his senior, who is less considered in Italy than he deserves.
Loftus and Kamada
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The next step, however, for Milan is to turn the page quickly, insert players in a group that will meet again for the first training session in less than 20 days. Davide Frattesi is the first name chosen for the midfield, as you can read on another page of the newspaper. Ruben Loftus-Cheek, English from Chelsea, is another name to always keep in mind. Milan have been following him for a long time, they talked about him with Chelsea and that dialogue can come back up to date at any time. Pioli appreciates him for his ability to combine physique and technique, overcoming a progressing opponent and creating superiority, playing aggressive football if necessary. Injuries are a topic on the table but the market, even if it started very strong, is long. Similarly, in that midfield Daichi Kamada has booked a place. The Japanese from Eintracht said yes to Milan and Milan promised him a place in next year’s squad. There is a problem: the domiciliation of the agents, which has led to a postponement. The problem can be solved between the end of the month and the beginning of July – watch out for the beginning of next week – and everything points to Milan and Kamada respecting their agreement. Signature and announcement would follow. If then this market at a thousand per hour surprises again… everything will be re-evaluated.
a construction site
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However, everything must be traced back to Sandro Tonali. The number 8 cannot be replaced “man for man”: there are stronger midfielders in the world, not footballers who can immediately bring his bond with Milan, his leadership, his importance to the team. Milan, not by chance, in the middle of the field is difficult to imagine. In the squad there are Bennacer, out for six months, obviously Krunic and Pobega, for now Adli who will leave. The construction site is huge, almost like the one that will soon be built for the stadium. Stefano Pioli has returned to Italy from vacation and from today he will speak even more frequently with Furlani and Moncada. It’s easy to think that the midfield is at the center of many discussions. Milan can switch to three in the middle, they can give up a pure point guard to play with two or three all-round players, almost certainly in the middle they will be more physical, they will add muscles and inches. He won’t replace Tonali, he will remake the world.
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