Tonali explains his move to Tottenham Hotspur

Sandro Tonali has shared why he decided to join Tottenham Hotspur. He said his bond with manager Roberto de Zerbi and their connection to Brescia were major factors in his choice.

The Italian midfielder made a club-record £100m transfer to Spurs after leaving Newcastle. This came despite interest from clubs that have been performing better lately.

Tonali mentioned that a meeting with De Zerbi quickly made him sure that Tottenham was the right place for him.

He revealed that it took just 10 minutes after their first talk for him to decide on the transfer.

A big part of their conversation was about Brescia, the club both of them are closely linked to. De Zerbi has supported Brescia since he was young and played for them, while Tonali started his football journey there.

According to BBC Sport, Tonali said, “We spoke about Brescia, about the difficult situation facing our club,” referring to the problems his childhood team is facing after dropping to Italy’s third tier.

De Zerbi had tried to sign Tonali when he was at Sassuolo. Tonali described their relationship as a “mini-connection” over the years.

Last season, De Zerbi reached out to a mutual friend to see if Tonali would be interested in moving to Tottenham. He was told the player was open to the idea.

After Spurs secured their place in the Premier League, De Zerbi got in touch with Tonali about a possible move. The midfielder replied soon after.

They later had more discussions at Tonali’s home near Brescia. There, Tonali said he understood his new manager's plans and ambitions clearly.

“Brescia is so small. I had two weeks there and met him two or three times,” Tonali said.

Now, as Tottenham’s record signing, Tonali is eager to help the club improve after a tough season. He believes De Zerbi’s vision was a big reason why he chose to move to north London.