Better than Sara: Man City keen on signing "world-class" £55m star
da aposte e ganhe： Heading into this campaign, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City must have felt confident that they could clinch a jaw-dropping fifth Premier League title in a row.
da lvbet： Unfortunately for the Citizens, Arne Slot’s Liverpool would go against this foregone conclusion and romp home as champions themselves, but the sky blue half of Manchester still have the FA Cup final to look forward to in an attempt to lift some form of silverware.
Then, a rebuild of sorts could be on the table at the Etihad, with midfield reinforcements perhaps needed considering Kevin De Bruyne is exiting City when the season is over, on top of an equally ageing Ilkay Gundogan leaving a lot to be desired.
Man City's transfer targets in midfield
A whole host of names have been churned out subsequently, seen in the likes of Florian Wirtz and Morgan Gibbs-White being linked as statement buys that could enhance Guardiola’s men in the number ten spot.
Another target thrown into the mix recently has been ex-Norwich City man Gabriel Sara, with reports from France even stating that contact has already taken place between City and Sara’s current side, Galatasaray, over a move.
But, the FA Cup finalists might well seek out alternative targets away from solely landing Sara, with The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards now reporting this week that the Premier League giants are interested in striking up a deal with Newcastle United ace Sandro Tonali.
After all, the Magpies number 8 would be seen as an upgrade on Sara if he was to join, especially when you consider Tonali has been classy performer throughout his St James’ Park stay to date.
How Tonali would be an upgrade on Sara
Whilst Sara has tasted English football in the past when on the books of the Canaries, he has never notched up any minutes in the intense Premier League across his career to date.
On the contrary, Tonali has been a top-flight regular for Eddie Howe’s men ever since his bumper £55m move from AC Milan back in 2023.
This season alone, the 24-year-old star has tallied up 32 league appearances for the Toon, with his consistent, classy performances from the middle of the park seeing him described as “one of the best midfielders in the world” by his agent Giuseppe Rossi, having picked up three goals and two assists.
Whilst Sara can boast heftier numbers in terms of output when starring in the Turkish top division this season with eight goal contributions overall next to Tonali’s five, the Galatasaray number 20 does still come up short in certain aspects of their respective midfield games.
Tonali’s league numbers (24/25) vs Sara’s (24/25)
Stat (* = per 90 mins)
Tonali
Sara
Games played
32
27
Goals scored
3
2
Assists
2
6
Touches*
51.5
60.1
Accurate passes*
33.7 (85%)
35.9 (83%)
Ball recoveries*
5.1
4.1
Total duels won*
3.7
3.4
Tackles *
1.4
0.9
Interceptions *
0.9
0.6
Stats by Sofascore
As can be seen looking at the table above, Tonali – who has even be hailed as “world-class” previously by football journalist Carlo Garganese – would be able to give City lots of energy from the middle of the park away from simply chipping in with goals and assists, with more ball recoveries and duels won on the end of the Italian than Sara has managed in the Super Lig.
Forceful in approach on top of stylishly spraying the ball about, the 24-year-old might well be the perfect midfield addition as City go about revamping all over the pitch, with a steady Premier League purchase helping Guardiola’s side to shore up away from a vibrant Omar Marmoush bombing forward.
Reports do suggest that Tonali is happy to stick it out with the Toon, but if an opening presents itself soon to snap up the Italian over Sara, City need to go all in for the Magpies fan favourite.
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