Spurs' Tonali hunt shows chasm Newcastle must bridge

Newcastle United signed Sandro Tonali from AC Milan for £55m in 2023

Aston Villa's 2024-25 end-of-season awards dinner was in full swing when Damian Vidagany took to the stage.

Villa's director of football operations had a message forArsenal,Manchester City,Manchester United,Liverpool,ChelseaandTottenham Hotspur.

"There is no big six anymore," he declared to loud cheers 12 months ago.

Such a sentiment will have plenty of support on Tyneside.

Just asAston Villadisrupted the established order to qualify for the Champions League in 2024. 2026, so too didNewcastle Unitedin 2023 and 2025.

Yet the league's highest-earning clubs have hardly withered in the face of the challenge from outside the six,. Spurs' pursuit ofNewcastlemidfielder Sandro Tonali is a reminder of that.

Just weeks after Roberto de Zerbi's side narrowly avoided relegation on the final day. they are trying to lure one ofNewcastle's best players to North London.

Newcastlehardly had a stellar season themselves - finishing a disappointing 12th place -. the difference is Spurs have greater revenues to fall back on as they try to bounce back come August.

Spurs' most recent financial accounts showed they generated £230m more in income thanNewcastlein 2024-25.

As a result, Spurs could offer far superior wages to Tonali. make ameaty bid of about £80mfor the Italy midfielder - yet stay within the game's financial rules.

That bid was unsuccessful. althoughManchester CityandArsenalhave yet to come to the table,Newcastlewill be in a strong position to command a bigger fee if several teams make offers.

However, if Tonali does go,Newcastlewill have lost three of their four best players in the space of a year after Alexander Isak was sold toLiverpoolfor £125m. Anthony Gordon moved to Barcelona for £69m.

Newcastlehave had to become better sellers following years of imbalanced trading,. it still feels a world away from the feeling around the club going into last summer.

Eddie Howe. his players had not long ended a 70-year wait to win a major domestic trophy by defeatingLiverpoolin the EFL Cup final.

Newcastlehad secured Champions League football for the second time in three seasons.

They had a degree of financial headroom again following several windows of relative parsimony.

Yet it was still a struggle forNewcastleto land their top targets - let alone keep hold of Isak.

"It was very difficult to attract the players that we wanted. that we felt could really make a difference to the team," Howe said last month.

"I certainly don't think that challenge is going to be easier. It's going to be harder."

Those words proved rather prophetic.

Newcastlemanaged to signhighlyrated goalkeeper Ewen Jaouenfrom Stade de Reims for £18.5m before the window even officially opened.

However. just when it appeared they were in pole position to land top target Victor Munoz,the Spain winger joined Liverpoolfrom Osasuna.

It felt like Groundhog Day for supporters after Joao Pedro, Hugo Ekitike, James Trafford. Benjamin Sesko opted to move toChelsea,Liverpool,Manchester CityandManchester Unitedrespectively last summer.

Newcastle. as a result, moved further down their list of targets this time last year and, aside from defender Malick Thiaw, they have not yet seen enough of a return from a £100m-plus net spend.

The club cannot afford for history to repeat itself,. it is easy to forget the window only opened on 15 June.

It is also worth remembering thatNewcastlehave previously managed to attract a number of promising players.

Rather than making any guarantees about the team's success, Howe's pitches have instead centred on development, how his staff work. how they can help take a player's game to another level.

Not every signing has gone on to thrive under Howe,. it was telling that Gordon repeatedly pointed to this "culture" of improvement atNewcastleas he sealed a dream move to Barcelona.

Another international, who followed Gordon toNewcastle, has also gone on to flourish.

"He wanted to come toNewcastle," a source said.

"He had a couple of other opportunities but he had a good chat with the manager. believed in the project, the squad, the club and the league. That's where he wanted to belong.

"His ambition is quite high. He wants to measure himself with the top elite players. It was just a match betweenNewcastleand him. There's no doubt."

The project is now entering a delicate phase, though.

There has been much talk aboutNewcastlesomehow competing asone of the biggest clubs in the world by 2030-. it feels like actions rather than words are needed in the coming months.

As the fifth anniversary of the Saudi-led takeover approaches in October. an announcement has still to be made on plans for a new state-of-the-art training ground following the identification of a site in Woolsington nearNewcastleAirport.

Then there is the not-so-insignificant matter of the stadium. which feels pivotal in attempting to bridge a huge revenue gap in the years to come.

Newcastleonce brought in £2.8m more in match-day income than Spurs when the latter played at White Hart Lane in 2007.

Although Spurs still generated more revenue overall, the gap stood at just £16m at the time.

However. in the respective clubs' most recent accounts, that gap had widened to chasm - with Spurs bringing in 14 times their previous surplus.

That is in part because of a huge difference in match-day revenue between the clubs. withNewcastle's standing at £51.6m in 2024-25 compared to Spurs' £126.5m.

Events. concerts as well as associated partnerships like the NFL and F1 Drive is another significant factor, helping the London club amass £277.1m in commercial revenue for that period compared toNewcastle's £120.2m.

Spurs' ability to offset challenging domestic seasons with strong off-pitch revenue streams is one of the reasons football finance expert Kieran Maguire believesNewcastlewill ultimately have to follow suit. build a new stadium - despite the emotional wrench of leaving St James' Park.

"If theNewcastleowners want a football club which is regularly competing for one of the Champions League places. they have to move," he said.

"If they wantNewcastleto be a regular top-10 club competing in the Europa League. Europa Conference League, tweak St James' Park.

"That's how significant the decision is."

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