Thread by @JoelBlandSport

𝙎𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙤 𝙏𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙞🇮🇹: Scouting Report | A mega🧵on how the 23-year-old can improve #NUFC and unlock the full potential of Bruno Guimarães as a roaming no 8🇧🇷
▪️Positional analysis
▪️Tactical analysis
▪️Key attributes
▪️Pressing, attacking & defensive ability

Profile overview:
Position – CDM, also capable of playing as a roaming no 8 and as a half no 6
Age - 23🤵
Club – AC Milan⚽
Nationality – Italian🇮🇹
Height – 5ft 9in📏
Estimated price - £64M💰

Stats for 2022/23 season for AC Milan:
Games played – Seria A: 34 | Champions League: 12
Goals (Domestic) – 2, underperformed xG of 2.4
Assists (Domestic) – 7, overperformed xA of 5.7
Pass completion – 75%

So, firstly, a bit about the midfielder nicknamed “the new Pirlo”.

The 23-year-old is a typical ‘Milanista’, born in Lodi - South East of Milan (40 minutes away), Tonali is a huge fan of the club, and despite the cliché, it really was a dream come true for him.

He transferred from Brescia to the Rosseneri on July 8th 2021 on a five-year-deal, with fee’s totalling €25M (loan fee + triggering option to buy).

Tonali🗣️:
“𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘶𝘮, 𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘐 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘻𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵."

He further stated: "𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘥𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘵.”

Not short of passion, Tonali was that determined to force a move to AC Milan he took a 400k pay cut (€1.6M to €1.2M per year), which assisted the negotiations that took place for a considerable amount of time, as well as snubbing more lucrative offers from other clubs.

𝙋𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝘼𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙨:
He spent most of last season playing as a no 6 in a double pivot in a 4-2-3-1 formation for Milan. However, the Italian possesses the versatility to also play as a roaming eight, playing in the half spaces between the wingers and the no 10.

This versatility is something that Eddie Howe highly admires in his players with the likes of Joelinton, Joe Willock and Anthony Gordon just a few of the many midfielders he has utilised in more than three different positions throughout the season.

Additionally, although Tonali is typically a 'regista', this fluidity to play a ‘half no 6/no 8’ would help to create a dynamic passing structure in the Magpies’ build up play as well as in transition. In turn, this would add a level of unpredictability in the build-up.

This would benefit Howe’s men, with a some of their passing patterns clearly nullified by the end of the season - Kieran Trippier, Guimarães and Miguel Almiron overlapping triangle to name one example.

Despite many CDM’s dropping to receive the ball between their team’s two CB’s – something Jonjo Shelvey has always done - Tonali consistently positions himself in the passing lanes between the oppositions press, this would allow #NUFC to further dictate/control the possession.

This would be particularly helpful in the early stages of the defensive build-up; would further encourage to play out from the back, something Howe likes to do.

Elaborating, this would give Newcastle the option to still play long balls to the likes of Joelinton and Callum Wilson, who both attain the physicality to win a lot of their aerial duels, which would be effective in games where the opposition is playing a medium block.

If Newcastle were to sign the 23-year-old, he would undoubtedly be deployed as a no 6, in the centre of NUFC’S midfield trio in their 4-3-3 formation. This would allow Bruno Guimaraes to play as an attacking no 8 (RCM), something that Howe has openly discussed.

Consequently, if United are to sign an elite CDM, in this case – Tonali, Sean Longstaff would become a squad player and used as rotation throughout the season in the FA Cup, Carabao Cup and the Champions League.

𝙏𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝘼𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙨:
First and foremost, I believe one of Tonali’s best attributes is his ball progression which is assisted by his excellent vision and his keenness to play the ball vertically and move possession forward.

He managed 86 PrgR (progressive passes recorded) which is pretty exceptional – for reference this is something Guimaraes does flawlessly, and he only registered 42 last season.

The Italian also attains a decent level of composure and likes to play the ball quickly – with a one-touch pass something the midfielder often performs accurately. His first touch is generally good but could be improved.

He plays with both feet comfortably and is great at retaining the ball under a high press, which is a solid attribute to have in the Premier League, with the ever-growing deployment of high presses - even from bottom-half clubs.

Tonali plays with very high aggression, and is a tenacious ball-winner – his physical strength has really developed in the last year and is now one of his marquee attributes. This was initially hindered in 2020 with the player suffering from multiple “muscular problems”.

In terms of his press, he would suit Howe’s intensity well. Although not blessed with a great overall pace, the players mentality amalgamated with his aggression, helps him press effectively.

Under Stefano Pioli he was a cardinal mechanism in the way Milan pressed, rather than simply rushing to the ball, he alternatively presses “cleverly”, meaning he not only applies pressure to the opposition but also cuts other team’s most common passing lanes off forcing errors.

When exploring his defensive actions, statistically, Tonali made 64 tackles, 34 blocks and 25 interceptions last season, very similar to Guimaraes – 78 tackles, 28 blocks and 36 interceptions.

Thread Part One.

Continue reading below for the rest.

Part Two of Thread🧵here⬇️
#NUFC

https://twitter.com/JoelBlandSport/status/1671576548141408265?t=Zhkg7aCAzC521rQ0cED3_Q&s=19

I'm aware he's 5ft 11 btw, made a mistake converting his height from metres😂.

If you're new to my profile, here's quick intro! I'm a sports journalist, primarily reporting for @MetroRadioNews and writing for @FootballFanCast. Also a huge #NUFC fan. Have decent contacts into the club, and don't mind the odd exclusive - just ask @ADMusgrove my nickname

For more information on Tonali, head to @nufcsanjay, who I'm sure will have something similar released soon.