Italy icon Roberto Baggio gives ‘surprise’ take on Sandro Tonali’s Newcastle United move

Serie A legend Roberto Baggio believes former club AC Milan ‘lost a great deal’ when they allowed Sandro Tonali to join Newcastle United.

The Italy midfielder was the Magpies priority target during the summer transfer window after manager Eddie Howe admitted he had fallen in love with Tonali during a Champions League match last season. A £60million deal was finally thrashed out after drawn-out negotiations between the two clubs and Tonali has made an impressive start to his career on Tyneside.

The 23-year-old took just five minutes to grab his first competitive goal for the Magpies when he opened the scoring in last weekend’s 5-1 demolition of Aston Villa - but it was not just his goalscoring exploits that caught the eye as Tonali’s all-action display quickly captured the attention of the St James Park faithful.

The midfielder was not the only Magpies player to endure a challenging night in Saturday’s defeat at treble winners Manchester City - but he has already shown what he can offer his new side as they look to close the gap on the Premier League elite and make an impression in this season’s Champions League.

Baggio, who was the subject of a ‘cheeky’ bid from Newcastle during the halcyon days of the mid-90s, assessed the Serie A title race and the current situation at both Milan clubs and he insisted Tonali’s departure has made a signifcant impact on his former employers.

He told Gazzetta dello Sport: “The Milan clubs changed a great deal and will need time to get themselves sorted out. Napoli will want to confirm their status and Juventus have an advantage being out of Europe, so all their focus will be on Serie A.

“I was really surprised by Tonali’s move to Newcastle, I did not expect that and Milan lose a great deal with his absence. However, Davide Frattesi is a player I really like and who I’ve been tracking, so his move is a big boost for Inter.”