Just weeks after Roberto de Zerbi's side narrowly avoided relegation on the final day, Tottenham Hotspur are trying to lure one of Newcastle United's best players to north London with an £80m bid. The offer for Italy midfielder Sandro Tonali was rejected, but the pursuit laid bare the chasm between the two clubs: Spurs' most recent financial accounts showed they generated £230m more in income than Newcastle in 2024-25.
The disparity is particularly painful for Newcastle, who finished 12th last season despite ending a 70-year wait for a major domestic trophy by defeating Liverpool in the EFL Cup final. Eddie Howe's side had secured Champions League football for the second time in three seasons, yet they have already lost Alexander Isak to Liverpool for £125m and Anthony Gordon to Barcelona for £69m in the past year.
“Tottenham's £80m rejected bid for Newcastle's Sandro Tonali highlights a £230m income gap between the clubs.”
"It was very difficult to attract the players that we wanted, that we felt could really make a difference to the team," Howe said last month. "I certainly don't think that challenge is going to be easier. It's going to be harder." Newcastle have managed to sign goalkeeper Ewen Jaouen from Stade de Reims for £18.5m, but the Tonali saga underscores how the league's highest-earning clubs can flex their financial muscle.
Meanwhile, Tottenham's own recruitment drive is causing unrest. Midfielder Lucas Bergvall, 20, is exploring options away from the club after playing limited minutes under De Zerbi last season, often not in his preferred 'number six' role. Bergvall's representatives are believed to have held talks with Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Chelsea, though Chelsea are no longer interested. The Sweden international is at the World Cup and played in Saturday's 5-1 defeat by the Netherlands in Houston. He made 33 appearances for Spurs last season but missed two months after ankle surgery.
De Zerbi was forthright about the need for reinforcements on the final day. "I think we have now to change too many players," he admitted. "We have 10, 11, 12 players good enough to stay." The club have already signed Liverpool's Andy Robertson and Bournemouth's Marcos Senesi on free transfers, and defender Jan Paul van Hecke joined from Brighton for £52m. But their pursuit of Tonali is far from over, and if Newcastle lose him, it would be another blow to a side trying to hold its own against the financial elite.