After their significant victory over Aston Villa on Saturday, Newcastle United shared an impressive tweet regarding their summer acquisition Sandro Tonali.
Tonali, who was brought to the club from AC Milan for a fee of £55 million during the summer, marked his Premier League debut with a goal as Newcastle convincingly defeated Villa 5-1 at St. James’ Park.
Alexander Isak (x2), Callum Wilson, and Harvey Barnes also etched their names onto the score-sheet as the Magpies inaugurated their league campaign with an emphatic win.
However, it was Tonali’s performance that garnered attention and discussions from both fans and critics. He delivered an exceptional display in the midfield, leaving a lasting impression on Newcastle legend Alan Shearer.
Reports had indicated that the Italian midfielder held reservations about being in England and displayed hesitance towards relocating to Tyneside.
His performance against Unai Emery’s team highlighted his dedication to his fresh squad after his transition from Milan.
The club’s official Twitter account jumped on his showing as they posted a picture of him celebrating, accompanied with the sarcastic caption: “Bro doesn’t even want to be here,” with a skull emoji.
The 23-year-old’s outing for Newcastle received high praise from Shearer, who said the player might turn out to be a bargain despite the fee they paid for his services.
“As debuts go, this was as good as it gets – what a magnificent start to his Newcastle career,” he said on Match of the Day.
“It was the perfect midfield performance; a goal, an assist, tackles, great range of passing, late runs into the box, getting stuck in, did his bit defensively – he was involved in almost everything.
“When you compare some of the prices that have been paid for midfielders and are about to be paid for them, I know it is early days… but he might turn out to be a bargain.”
Eddie Howe will be hoping for a similar performance from Tonali when they resume their league campaign next Saturday against Manchester City.