Sandro Tonali has spoken on his decision to join Tottenham Hotspur after the Lilywhites concluded a club-record deal for the midfielder on Wednesday.
Tottenham have agreed a fee of £100m, including add-ons, for Tonali, with the deal being agreed less than 24 hours after the Lilywhites paid £85m to land Mateus Fernandes.
Spurs have sent a message to the rest of the Premier League about their ambitions with these deals, with the pair joining Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi, Jan Paul van Hecke and Martin Dubravka at Hotspur Way in what has been a busy summer so far.
Tottenham’s newest signing has now reacted to the impending transfer just as he was about to fly to London to complete the move.
Sandro Tonali’s 13-word response on signing for Tottenham
The 26-year-old’s signing has created huge excitement among Spurs fans, with the Lilywhites set to start the new campaign with a completely new-look midfield.
Italian reporter Luca Bendoni managed to catch up with Tonali at the airport in Milan just as he was about to fly to London.
When asked about his impending move to Spurs, the midfielder said: “We decided for a change, and we are ready for this new adventure.”
In a second video, Tonali added: “Newcastle wanted the best for me and we wanted the best deal for them. We are all happy and I’m ready for the new challenge.”
Asked why he chose Tottenham over other clubs like Man City, Tonali said: “Roberto De Zerbi did a great job in all of this. And for a life choice with family because we are coming from Newcastle and last year our life changed with the birth of our child so we decided to change a bit our life. De Zerbi made a great difference and did his job very well.”
Roberto De Zerbi played a key role in convincing Tonali about Spurs move
Given the Brescia connection between De Zerbi and Tonali, the Tottenham boss played a decisive role in allowing Spurs to win the race for the midfielder.
In fact, it was revealed last week that despite attracting interest from the likes of Man City, Tonali was keen to honour his word to De Zerbi, having told the 46-year-old that he would link up with him in North London.
The midfielder is set to become one of the highest-paid players in the Premier League, with TEAMtalk claiming that the Italy international is set to earn £300k per week at Spurs, including bonuses.