Eddie Howe believes Sandro Tonali is on a mission to repay Newcastle’s faith as the Italian midfielder prepares to return from a 10-month ban at Nottingham Forest on Wednesday night.
Tonali’s ban for breaching Italian betting rules derailed Newcastle’s season and Howe hopes the midfielder, the club’s £53m signing from Milan last summer, will quickly make up for lost time, starting with the Carabao Cup tie.
“I don’t know if debt is the right word, but Sandro will obviously feel that he wants to repay everyone here for the trust we put in him when we signed him,” said the Newcastle manager, who has offered Tonali – support under the agreement. suspension. “We have tried to support the human being instead of treating him like a football player, first and foremost.
“I’ve seen enough of Sandro [in training] all these months to support his abilities. I still love the player.”
The 24-year-old will continue to make regular trips to Italy for counseling and receive help from Newcastle’s club psychologist, Dr. Ian Mitchell, but Howe was a bit equivocal when asked how he could prevent Tonali from playing in the future.
“It’s a complex issue,” the manager said. “I will not go into Sandro’s individual situation, because it is his private life and situation that he will continue to work on. But he gets care from the club. It will be an ongoing thing for Sandro and communication is essential in this regard. His football career is summed up and hopefully that is a stimulus in itself to help him.”
Howe has been impressed by Tonali’s response to the ban. “He’s a very strong guy, he’s handled this situation so well. He’s shown real strength, dignity, integrity. Because he’s been isolated at times, it hasn’t always been easy for him. He’s had some low moments and some lonely moments when the team has played.
“I think we will get another player back, a stronger player mentally, someone who will enjoy his football and probably appreciate every moment because it has been taken away from him for a long period of time.
“Sandro is not expressive on the outside. He will be calm, cool and collected tomorrow, but I’m sure inside he can’t wait to wear that shirt again. Playing again will be a huge release for him.”
Doctors distinguish between gambling addictions and problem gambling, but when asked which group Tonali belonged to, Howe stated, “I don’t want to go there.”
He was more accommodating when it came to the midfielder’s adjustment to life in the North East of England. “Sandro is really well liked by his teammates,” Howe said.
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“I’ve seen him form really strong friendships, a really good social network. He has people he can trust to talk to and really good role models. It is so important to your future success. He certainly looks at home here now.”
In an ideal world, Howe ideally wants to introduce Tonali to at least three new team-mates before the transfer window closes on Friday, but while he is hopeful of signing Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford, he envisions just one outfield signing.
While a right-sided centre-half is the overriding priority and talks continue for England’s Marc Guéhi with Crystal Palace believed to be seriously considering accepting a fifth bid from Newcastle, Howe’s hopes of acquiring a right-winger appear dashed. . “Probably not, no,” he said of the likelihood of recruiting two outfielders. “But we hope we can still do something.”