Tottenham beat Manchester City in £100 million midfielder transfer chase

• Manchester City have fallen short as Tottenham agree a deal for Sandro Tonali.
• Roberto De Zerbi takes his spending in midfield to almost £200 million after signing Mateus Fernandes.

• Despite losing the race for the Italian, City will focus their attentions on other potential midfield targets.

Manchester City have fallen short as Tottenham agree a deal for Sandro Tonali.

Roberto De Zerbi takes his spending in midfield to almost £200 million after signing Mateus Fernandes.

Despite losing the race for the Italian, City will focus their attentions on other potential midfield targets.

Manchester City have lost out to Tottenham in the chase to sign Newcastle and Italy international midfielder Sandro Tonali, it has been widely reported.

Sporting director Hugo Viana had positioned Manchester City to possibly engineer a big-money double swoop in midfield, utilising the momentum generated by closing a club record-breaking £116 million package for Elliot Anderson.

However, Tottenham have countered with staggering financial ambition under their new manager Roberto De Zerbi, who identified Tonali as the cornerstone of his new system in North London.

Spurs have successfully executed a significant boardroom victory that will no doubt give supporters plenty of reason to be optimistic after a season that saw them narrowly avoid relegation from the Premier League.

Now, as first reported by The Athletic’s David Ornstein, Tottenham have reached an agreement with Newcastle for Sandro Tonali that will see them pay an initial £92.5 million, with an additional £7.5 million in proposed add-ons based on multiple Champions League qualifications.

The finalisation of a staggering £100 million package marks a dramatic milestone in the domestic window, confirming that Spurs have shattered their club transfer record twice in a 48-hour window following an undisclosed move for Mateus Fernandes.

For Tonali, the allure of spearheading De Zerbi’s tactical operation in midfield, alongside an eye-watering personal salary package, has seemingly eclipsed the temptation of joining Maresca’s project in East Manchester.

While missing out on the 26-year-old may represent a rare defeat for Hugo Viana, City’s hierarchy are already looking to alternative measures ahead of pre-season training beginning from July 20.

The club are already understood to have made initial contacts over the possibility of signing Lille‘s Moroccan wonderkid Ayyoub Bouaddi, who has starred for his country at the World Cup en route to the last-16 of the competition.

Lille’s Ayyoub Bouaddi poised for major position change at Manchester City

Lille’s Ayyoub Bouaddi poised for major position change at Manchester City

However, it remains possible that a deal for the 18-year-old could comprise of a season-long loan at his current side in French football for the 2026/27 campaign, before joining City in the summer of 2027.