Former Chelsea midfielder Sam Dalla Bona claims Newcastle United bound Sandro Tonali ‘will miss Milan more than the club will miss him.’
The deal is done to bring Tonali to St James Park for €80m including bonuses and add-ons, plus a percentage of the sell-on fee.
MilanNews.it spoke to someone who has made the move from Italy to the Premier League before, namely Samuele Dalla Bona, who left the Atalanta youth academy to join Chelsea in 1998.
He returned to Serie A for Milan in the summer of 2002.
“I am very surprised at this move, because Sandro is a young player who was making his mark at Milan, not any old club.
“Considering how young he is, I thought he could become an icon at Milan. However, like Gigio Donnarumma, I think one day Sandro will miss Milan more than the club will miss him.”
Donnarumma left as a free agent for Paris Saint-Germain and has not quite been able to replicate the same form.
Tonali is a lifelong supporter of the Rossoneri and repeated his story many times after joining them from Brescia.
“Considering his characteristics, Tonali can do well in England. The Premier League certainly has a different tempo to Serie A, but I must say there is also significantly less pressure there than in Italy.”
Milan are now on the verge of signing Ruben Loftus-Cheek from Chelsea for €16m plus €4m in bonuses.
“Loftus-Cheek played well under Maurizio Sarri, but I haven’t seen him much lately. He could be a good buy, but I would absolutely go for Sergej Milinkovic-Savic instead,” added Dalla Bona.
Why is Tonali being scapegoated? It’s not like he left by his own will – Milan made sure he knew he wasn’t wanted once the big money came rolling in. What a shame. Sempre con noi, Sandro.