Sandro Tonali arrival could oust struggling Newcastle United star from shirt number

Imminent Newcastle United arrival Sandro Tonali will have to oust January signing Anthony Gordon out of the number eight shirt should he want his preferred digit on Tyneside.

The Magpies have flown representatives out to Romania today (Friday) to meet with the midfielder's agents after agreeing a bumper £60 million transfer fee with Italian giants AC Milan. Tonali is currently in Cluj-Napoca with Italy under-21s competing at the UEFA European Under-21 Championships, where his side lost their opening game 1-0 to France despite the incoming Magpie picking up an assist.

It is understood that the 23-year-old has already undergone his medical ahead of being announced as a Newcastle United player, after putting pen to paper on a six-year contract.

The transfer, a record sale for an Italian player, will excite Newcastle United fans ahead of a return to the Champions League next season with Tonali coming with a real pedigree - NewcastleWorld looked at the star's strengths, weaknesses and injury history on Thursday.

Newcastle United supporters will be starting to think about what the midfielder will look like in the famous black and white stripes and, of course, which number he will take. Tonali has a clear preference for the number eight and has been playing with that jersey ever since he joined AC Milan in 2020. He also dons that number for the Italy under-21 side.

However, that shirt number is currently taken at Newcastle United by January signing Anthony Gordon. The former Everton man switched from his number 10 at the Toffees to take the number vacated by Jonjo Shelvey.

The number 10 at St James' Park currently belongs to forward Allan Saint-Maximin but rumours suggest the Frenchman could be on his way out from the North East in search of more playing time this summer. Should that happen, there is a world Gordon could return to his preferred number 10 and Tonali can claim his desired number eight.

If the Italian must make do with one of the numbers currently available, he will have to pick from 15, 16, 20, 25, 27, 34, 35, 37 and 38. The star only has a brief history with one of those digits as he spent time as a number 34 when rising through the youth ranks at Brescia.

Over the years, Tonali has also played with the numbers 4, 6, 10 and 30 across club and international level.