Eddie Howe breaks silence on Sandro Tonali transfer talks as Newcastle boss makes feeling clear

However, the Magpies have privately maintained no discussions took place with the Premier League leaders regarding their midfield star.

The side moved swiftly to address the situation, with Howe personally reassuring Tonali amid the transfer noise.

The club appears determined to shut down any suggestion that the Italy international could be available for a move away from Tyneside.

Newcastle's stance reflects their experience from last summer, when they fought to retain Alexander Isak before ultimately agreeing to Liverpool's £130million approach for the Swedish striker.

Last year's League Cup winners have no intention of finding themselves in a similar position with Tonali, who remains under contract at St James' Park until 2029.

The midfielder's deal also includes an option to extend for an additional year, providing the club with significant security over his future.

Having navigated the protracted Isak departure, Newcastle are keen to avoid another drawn-out transfer battle over one of their prized assets.

Howe said: "I don’t think so, but lots of things happen without my knowledge. As far as I’m aware, we’ve got a player that’s an outstanding footballer, an outstanding person. He’s very happy here, he’s got a great relationship with me, his team-mates, he seems really, really happy within himself, so that would surprise me.

"But our best players will always be attracting glances from other clubs, that’s just the reality of football. We want to keep the group together, we want to keep being progressive and of course Sandro plays a part in that, trying to hit his best levels and play as well as he can to help the team.

"All-encompassed, I don’t see an issue, but as I say, I’m not in control of everything."

The speculation over Tonali, who was supported by the club after he incurred a 10-month ban for betting offences just five months after his £55million arrival from AC Milan in July 2023, prompted Howe to seek out the player for clarification.

Speaking ahead of Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup semi-final second-leg trip to Manchester City, Howe said: "Sandro’s absolutely fine. I had discussions with Sandro yesterday.

"He’s absolutely focused on the here, the now, playing for us. His only focus, talking to him yesterday, was Manchester City and trying to win that game, so there’s absolutely no issue with Sandro himself and he’s very happy and he’s committed.

"I find it difficult to talk about things that I don’t know too much about. I can only talk about Sandro as the person and the player and his mindset here and now, having discussed things with him yesterday, and he’s absolutely fine."

Tonali is likely to be at the heart of Newcastle’s midfield at the Etihad Stadium.

Joelinton is definitely out, while Bruno Guimaraes and Lewis Miley are likely to join him on the sidelines, as the holders attempt to overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit.

Howe said: “We still believe we’ve got the players that can go to any stadium in the world and perform and score goals, so I think collectively that spirit within the group is there.

“It’s going to be an almighty challenge and there’s no bigger challenge than Manchester City away, but we believe in ourselves and we’re going to give it a good go.”

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