Newcastle United to get £55m boost in time for Spurs fixture as dates confirmed
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Newcastle United will be able to deploy their £55m star man for the first time in 10 months against Tottenham Hotspur.
Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali will be able to make his first appearance in 10 months against Tottenham Hotspur in August as the Premier League fixtures for the upcoming season are confirmed.
Ange Postecoglou's side begins their top flight campaign with a Monday night clash against newly-promoted Leicester City on August 19. The visit of Everton to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium follows in Gameweek 2 before a visit to St James' Park as the third fixture of the season.
Trips to Tyneside have been full of drama for the London outfit in recent seasons. Spurs were hammered 4-0 at St James' Park last season and were on the end of a 6-1 thumping in April 2023 too.
A last win in the North East came in October 2021 when Nuno Espirito Santo crashed the host’s takeover party with a 3-2 win. Once again, this year, the long trip up north looks sure to make headlines.
That's because the meeting on August 31 will mark the return of Magpies man Tonali. The 23-year-old hasn't played since October as he serves a ban handed to him as punishment for betting on matches in Italy.
Tonali completed a £55 million move to Newcastle United from AC Milan last summer but played just 12 times before being hit with the 10-month ban, which ends in August.
The midfielder has also been charged with 50 further breaches of FA Rule E8 for betting on football matches between 12 August 2023 and 12 October 2023, after he had moved to the Premier League, but that is a two-month suspended ban and won't come into play until the end of the 2024/25 campaign.
Tonali isn't eligible to feature in Newcastle United's pre-season matches due to his ban and can only play in behind-closed-doors games. The North East club have stood by their man and Eddie Howe has spoken about the player's 'hunger' to return.
As quoted on NewcastleWorld, the Magpies boss said earlier this year: “I’ve seen the hunger there (to return to playing) throughout the entire time. He’s done a lot of work alone. Individual work, fitness work, gym work. We’ve worked on his speed, and covered loads of aspects of his game to try and help him.”