Newcastle likely to see £34m bid accepted for “monster” CM

Newcastle United’s return to the Champions League this season was down to the brilliance of Alexander Isak, Anthony Gordon and Jacob Murphy last term.

Between them, the trio registered 72 goal involvements in all competitions.

Behind them, however, it was Sandro Tonali who was running the show. The Italian was missed during his debut season, having served a ten-month ban for gambling offences, but he returned for 2024/25.

He will be crucial next season if Eddie Howe wishes to see his side progress into the knockout stages of Europe’s premier club competition.

Might the manager be aiming to sign someone who plays just like Tonali this month?

Newcastle offered chance to sign La Liga star

According to TEAMtalk, the Magpies have been offered the chance to sign Atlético Madrid midfielder Conor Gallagher this summer, with the former Chelsea man said to be exploring a possible exit from his current side.

As per the report, Howe is a huge admirer of his talents, although no talks or negotiations have taken place as yet. Encouragement has been given to the Magpies, however, with the report outlining that the La Liga side are open to selling if they receive an offer in the region of €40m (£34m).

Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest are the other English sides to which Gallagher has been offered, but surely the lure of Champions League football makes Newcastle the favourites.

If Howe does lure him to the northeast, Gallagher could become his next Tonali.

How Tonali compares to Gallagher

Tonali missed just two Premier League games last term, going on to register nine goal contributions in all competitions.

The midfielder showed his class in the heart of the midfield, winning 54% of his total duels while succeeding with 59% of his dribble attempts per game. He also recovered 4.9 balls and averaged 1.4 tackles per game for the Toon, emerging as a key factor in the club’s return to the Champions League.

According to FBref, Gallagher is the eighth-most comparable player to Tonali across Europe’s top five leagues.

Diving into more detail, the pair have even shared similar statistics across a range of metrics last season, most notably goals and assists (both six), shots per 90 (1.21 vs 1.20), goal-creating actions (eight vs nine), percentage of dribblers tackled (44.9% vs 49%) and touches in the attacking penalty area (38 vs 45) in their respective domestic leagues.

Gallagher did make 50 appearances for the Spanish side last season, but only 28 of these came in the starting XI.

Described by one analyst as a “pressing and transition monster“, Newcastle likely to see £34m bid accepted for “monster” CM, he’d be Tonali 2.0 – opinion he experience abroad might not have worked out as well as he would have hoped, but Gallagher would return to England a better player than when he left.

Should Howe wish to add another reliable player to his squad, he could do no worse than to bring the former Chelsea starlet back to England.

Tonali has proven his worth over the previous 12 months, and by signing Gallagher, Howe would have two players capable of dominating the midfield next season.

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