Newcastle need to replace Tonali and will negotiate for this Neymar teammate

Details of the illegal betting scandal involving several Italian players emerged two weeks ago. Nicolo Fagioli of Juventus was the first to be investigated by Italian prosecutors, followed by Nicolo Zaniolo of Aston Villa and Sandro Tonali of Newcastle.

This situation escalated quickly and the players were forced to explain themselves. Tonali, through his agent, expressed regret for this and claimed to have a gambling addiction that he is trying to resolve with mental health professionals. However, that did not save him from a sanction and he was punished with a 10-month suspension, among other penalties.

This caused an unexpected problem for Newcastle, who just a few months ago paid $66 million for him to AC Milan. So now they are looking for a midfielder to replace him and, according to reports, they are targeting Neymar's teammate in Saudi Arabia: Ruben Neves. The Portuguese player arrived at Al-Hilal this summer to join other stars such as the Brazilian forward, Yassine Bounou, Kalidou Koulibaly, Sergej Milinkovc-Savic, Malcom and Aleksandar Mitrovic. Since then he has played 13 games, scored one goal and provided one assist.

Neves has Premier League experience, having played 253 games for Wolverhampton between 2017 and 2023. He had previously had standout performances at Porto as well. According to The Sun, The Magpies will try to negotiate with Al-Hilal for a loan until next summer, considering that Tonali will be able to return for the start of the 2024/25 season.

He is not the only one targeted

In addition to Ruben Neves, reports indicate that Newcastle are also considering another alternative: Kalvin Phillips. The midfielder arrived in 2022 at Manchester City and has since failed to earn a place in Pep Guardiola's team. This could affect his chances of playing at Euro 2024 with the English national team, so his departure to another club is possible.