Tottenham signed Sandro Tonali from Newcastle United in the summer and he’s been a regular so far this season. However, the midfielder hasn’t exactly impressed ex-Italy forward Antonio Cassano.
Roberto De Zerbi was key to bringing the midfielder to the club. Tonali himself confirmed that, with his agent also speaking about the manager’s importance to the transfer.
So far in the current campaign, he has started every Premier League game. At the weekend, he assisted Tottenham’s stoppage time equaliser against Manchester United.
Cassano typically critical
Antonio Cassano is a regular on the Viva El Futbol podcast and he spoke about the midfielders that Italy have available to the national team right now.
The former striker made it clear that he isn’t a fan of many of them. This also includes the Tottenham star, who he believes isn’t as good as Inter Milan’s Nicolo Barella.
Cassano said – via FCInter1908: “Behind Barella, there are people worse than him. Also, in my opinion, he’s both poor and overrated; I’ve been saying this for years, and you know it.”
Offering opinion on Tonali, he said: “€110m for Tonali, €110m, madness, he’s really poor too. All coaches can have ideas.
“Tonali at €75m for Newcastle and €110m for Tottenham, it means it’s right that I’m out of football.”
Antonio Cassano
Career stats & achievements
| Club | Appearances | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Bari | 50 | 6 |
| Roma | 161 | 52 |
| Real Madrid | 29 | 4 |
| Sampdoria — both spells | 140 | 43 |
| AC Milan | 40 | 8 |
| Inter Milan | 39 | 9 |
| Parma | 56 | 18 |
| Hellas Verona | 0 | 0 |
| Club total | 515 | 140 |
Italy: 39 senior appearances, 10 goals.
| La Liga winner Real Madrid |
2006–07 |
| Serie A winner AC Milan |
2010–11 |
| Supercoppa Italiana winner Roma / AC Milan |
2001 / 2011 |
| European Championship runner-up Italy |
2012 |
| Serie A Young Footballer of the Year | 2001, 2003 |
Italy figures exclude youth internationals. Verona: no competitive appearances.
Sources: U.C. Sampdoria and compiled career records.
Checked: 13 October 2026.
Our take: Criticism largely unfair
Sandro Tonali was poor in Italy’s game against Belgium but was quite good in the next three games during the international break. For Tottenham, he has had impressive spells and his performance at the weekend was very good.
Cassano’s criticism is largely unfair and the same holds true for his criticism of Barella. He appears to be justifying an opinion he may have given in the past.
