Sandro Tonali has revealed that a ten-minute conversation with Roberto De Zerbi was all it took to convince him to sign for Tottenham Hotspur this summer, despite interest from Arsenal and Manchester City.
The 26-year-old joined Spurs from Newcastle United earlier this summer in a club-record transfer that could reach £100 million. He had spent three seasons at Newcastle but was widely expected to leave after a disappointing campaign.
Tonali attracted interest from a host of Premier League clubs, including Manchester City and Manchester United. Arsenal also considered a move but chose to focus on Tonali's former Newcastle teammate Bruno Guimaraes.
The Decisive Conversation
Tonali revealed that he held talks with one other English club but ultimately felt the pull to join Tottenham after conversations with fellow countryman De Zerbi.
'My first impression was really positive,' he told reporters in Sydney. 'When you are happy after a 10-minute speech, it's everything, everything is perfect.'
'The gaffer was Italian, Roberto. I knew him. Roberto really cares about his work, his football. He said, “The project will be tough but will be perfect for me, for you, for the city, and we can do one of the best seasons, because we have big players. We just have to put a lot of work in”.'
Family and Future
'When we spoke with Tottenham, we decided to sign for this team. They spoke with 100 per cent passion, 100 per cent seriousness,' Tonali added. 'For this city, for my life outside of football for my family, OK, it's like 10 per cent. Roberto and the director made the difference to the deal.'
'I spoke after two minutes with my wife and my family and I said, “Probably it will be one of my best decisions of my career”. She told me, “You have 100 per cent the control over this decision”. I wanted to speak with her because it's our life.'
Italian Dream
Tonali also revealed that his preference had been for a move back to his homeland, but it quickly became clear that no Italian club could meet Newcastle's asking price.
'We had decided to come back in Italy but it was impossible for the money,' he said. 'England was our solution and we found the best solution in England for me, for my career, for my football, for my happiness, for my family.'
'I spoke with two teams. I understood after 10, 15 minutes that Tottenham would be my next team.'
