Paris Saint-Germain could use some reinforcements in the midfield heading into next season and Brescia Calcio’s Sandro Tonali is a player that has caught the eye of club sporting director, Leonardo.
Tonali, who just turned 20 on Friday, has been dubbed the “new Andrea Pirlo” and has been linked with a move to pretty much every big Italian club as well as PSG.
With Tonali’s contract expiring and Brescia likely to be relegated, club president and owner, Massimo Cellino, could be convinced to sell his star player instead of losing him on a free transfer.
According to a report from Italian broadcaster Sport Mediaset (via Sempre Inter), Inter Milan has approached Tonali’s agent about a potential move during the summer transfer window. Transfermarkt puts Tonali’s value at €31.5 million but Brescia will reportedly ask upwards of €50 million given the player’s massive potential.
Despite Inter’s latest attempts to sign Tonali, Juventus FC has long been thought to be the likeliest destination for the prized midfielder. While it’s been reported that Tonali would prefer to stay in Italy, especially with the UEFA European Championship being moved to next summer, PSG is still in the race and they have a secret weapon: Marco Verratti (per Le10Sport).
Like Tonali, Verratti was a young Italian midfielder on a lower-tier team (Pescara) who has blossomed into one of the best players in the world in the French capital. Leonardo hopes that Verratti will be able to share his experience with Tonali and lure him to PSG.
In addition to Verratti’s guidance, PSG can likely offer Tonali more playing time than Juventus who has a log jam at midfield with Adrien Rabiot, Aaron Ramsey, Rodrigo Bentancur, Miralem Pjanić, Blaise Matuidi, and Sami Khedira all vying for time. At PSG, Tonali would have to beat out Idrissa Gueye and Leandro Paredes for minutes.
The good news is we should get an answer this summer so this is one transfer rumor to keep an eye on.
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