Newcastle United winger Harvey Barnes has warned former team-mate Sandro Tonali that the Magpies will not show him any 'niceness' when the two sides meet on Saturday. Tonali will face Newcastle for the first time since leaving the club in a £100million deal earlier this summer, making his home debut for Tottenham Hotspur in the process.
Tonali's home debut against former club
United travel to North London on Saturday evening to take on Spurs, with Tonali set to make his first competitive appearance at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Italy international spent three years on Tyneside after joining from AC Milan in the summer of 2023, establishing himself as one of the Premier League's top midfielders.
The reunion adds a fascinating subplot to a game that Matthias Jaissle will surely be targeting for his first Premier League win as Newcastle head coach. The Magpies drew 2-2 with Liverpool last weekend, denied victory by Dominik Szoboszlai's stoppage-time penalty, while Tottenham were thrashed 3-0 by Brentford on the opening weekend despite spending over £300million on new players this summer.
Barnes: 'No niceness on the pitch'
Barnes admitted it will be nice to see Tonali after the game but warned the midfielder he will get no special treatment on Saturday.
"I think there's going to be a lot of clubs like that this year, we've got different things going on," Barnes told reporters after Newcastle's win over West Brom. "Like I said there's different managers, different players coming in, there's a lot of clubs in the same boat, so you can't underestimate anyone."
"You've just got to go with it, with the preparation and a game plan to go and win, that's exactly what we'll do. It'll also be great to go and get our first win there like you say, but we'll just do all our prep, make sure we're ready to go and see what we're up against."
"We've had a great few years with him [Tonali], he's on the other team for 90 minutes on Saturday, so there'll be no niceness on the pitch but afterwards there will be, 100 per cent. He's a familiar face and we know him well."
Tonali admits nerves ahead of reunion
Tonali has also addressed facing Newcastle in a new interview, admitting he is a 'little bit more nervous' and is feeling 'tension' ahead of coming up against his former team-mates.
"[It will be a mix of emotion. I love the people there," Tonali told Sky Sports. "With me they were amazing every every single day from the first season. I think [I] will be a little bit more nervous and with tension. But I love all the people there."
"The stadium there is, I think it's one of the most beautiful in England and my time my time there was amazing. I passed free here and there."
"I think Newcastle is really a family club. I say this for for the best transfer for for them because they deserve everything. The love they showed to me."
"I really loved when I sign when I sign Newcastle just after eight games I was banned and they show me really a lot like like my mom and my dad and I think I say to my my agent I want the best year for them because they deserve everything."
