Newcastle United ‘eye’ 174-assist Man United star after Sandro Tonali ban

Newcastle United are monitoring Manchester United midfielder Christian Eriksen amid the Sandro Tonali ban, according to reports in Spain.

Magpies boss Eddie Howe initially said there was a high possibility that midfielder Tonali would play against Wolves on Saturday evening in Newcastle’s latest Premier League clash, despite receiving a 10-month ban from football, but the suspension has since been confirmed, effective on Friday.

The 23-year-old summer signing from AC Milan was banned by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) on Thursday for a breach of betting rules, and after initially being left in limbo, Newcastle have now received official word that the ban has been ratified by FIFA, and it is effective worldwide. With news of the ban, a host of midfielders have been linked with the Magpies, with Eriksen the latest name on the radar, according to Fichajes.

The 31-year-old has started just three Premier League games for the Red Devils this term and will have just one year left on his contract come the summer. He has previous experience in the English top flight with Tottenham Hotspur and Brentford and has made 273 appearances in the competition, scoring 54 goals and providing 75 assists.

He has also appeared for Ajax and Inter Milan during his career and has 174 career assists and 113 goals at club level. He has made 124 appearances for Denmark, scoring 40 goals and would provide undoubted experience and versatility to Howe if a January move was pulled off.

Newcastle could pounce on the midfielder’s lack of time, with the Dane starting just one Champions League for the Red Devils so far. He came off the bench at half time in midweek as Erik ten Hag’s side secured a narrow win over Copenhagen, which came after the visitors missed a penalty deep into second-half stoppage time.

Eriksen provided the assist for Harry Maguire’s goal, which was enough for all three points. Speaking after the game, Ten Hag said: “He [Eriksen] was part of it, definitely. I think our build-up got fluid, more fluid, once he came in. But we made some adjustments in other positions, in other constructions and cooperations.

“But Christian definitely played a big part in that. His timings were good to get free and on the ball his decision-making was good and the best example was the assist for Harry Maguire’s goal.”

Whether his inspired display in midweek will lead to more starts remains to be seen but if the 31-year-old continues to sit on the fringes, a January move would not be completely out of the question.