Tonali reveals 10-minute chat with De Zerbi sealed £100m Tottenham move

Sandro Tonali has opened up on the whirlwind decision to join Tottenham, admitting a 10-minute conversation with manager Roberto de Zerbi at his home near Brescia was enough to convince him. The Italy international completed a club-record £100million switch from Newcastle, making him the most expensive signing in Spurs history. The move came together rapidly after De Zerbi reached out following Tottenham's Premier League survival. "We spoke about Brescia, about the difficult situation facing our club," Tonali said, referencing the bankruptcy of his boyhood side after relegation to Serie C. The Brescia connection runs deep: De Zerbi grew up supporting the club and played for them, while Tonali started his career there. De Zerbi first tested the waters during last season by texting a mutual friend to ask if Tonali would be interested in a Spurs move. The response was positive: "He is open." But the midfielder's immediate priority was keeping Newcastle up. The day after Tottenham beat Everton to secure safety, De Zerbi made direct contact. "Within 10 minutes he called me back," Tonali recalled. A subsequent meeting at Tonali's home, just outside Brescia, cemented the deal. "Brescia is so small. I had two weeks there and met him two or three times," Tonali added. The bond actually dates back nine years, when De Zerbi - then at Sassuolo - tried to sign a teenage Tonali. That brief spell launched De Zerbi's coaching career and, as Tonali put it, created a "mini-connection" that finally paid off this summer. Despite interest from clubs with stronger recent pedigree - Tottenham had finished 17th the previous season - Tonali was captivated. Sources close to the player describe how the meetings made Spurs' pitch irresistible. "I spoke with another team also," Tonali admitted. "But when you speak with a team, the first impression is a big thing. When you are happy after a 10-minute chat, it's everything." Tonali emphasised that London itself was only about 10% of the attraction. "Football, De Zerbi and Tottenham's recruitment staff made up the other 90%," he said. His family's happiness was paramount, and a return to Italy was financially impossible because clubs could afford his wages but not the transfer fee. "England was our solution and we found the best solution in England for me, for my career, for my happiness, for my family." At Spurs he joins an Italian coaching contingent and fellow Italy international Destiny Udogie. But Tonali stressed his Newcastle exit was not driven by unhappiness. Unprompted, he said: "Eddie [Howe] was fantastic for me," adding he wants to maintain friendships with Howe - also leaving the Magpies - and sporting director Ross Wilson. He even wanted "the best deal" for Newcastle because they "deserve everything". The £100m price tag brings "a lot of pressure", Tonali acknowledged, but he insists he will remain a "normal" person. "I don't know your impression about football players like me, but honestly, I'm a normal person. When I go back to Italy, I go to my family, to my grandma, to my friends. If it is perfect for my family, it is perfect for me."