Maurizio Sarri
According to the Sun, Liverpool have joined Chelsea in the race to sign 18-year-old defensive midfielder Sandro Tonali. The Italian plays in the Serie B for Brescia, the club that produced legendary midfielder Andrea Pirlo. Former Leeds United owner Massimo Cellino now owns the club and has slapped a £43million price tag on the player, should the team get promoted.
Brescia are currently leading the Serie B and promotion to the top-flight looks likely. As a result, the Premier Leauge duo should keep their chequebooks ready in the summer window.
Tonali made his professional debut for the club in August 2017 against Avellino and has been a regular at the Lombardy club since. The youngster impressed for Italy under-19s in the European Championships. He ran the show in midfield and played a massive part in Azzurrini’s road to the final.
The 18-year-old has continued his impressive form this season and has featured in all but one of Brescia’s league games. He has two goals and five assists to his name so far this campaign. Impressed with the youngster’s quality and performances, Italy head coach Roberto Mancini added to the hype by calling him up to the senior squad.
The Italian worked with stars like Marco Veratti and Jorginho in training, that would benefit him massively. Hence, he should pick a move to play with the latter and under Maurizio Sarri at Chelsea.
Under the tutelage of Sarri, Tonali would be expected to shine, like his national mate Jorginho. The latter moved to Napoli a season before the manager took over and improved massively under him over the next three years.
Tonali’s style of pretty to that of Jorginho. The 18-year-old appears calm on the ball even when surrounded by players in midfield. His outstanding game awareness allows him to pick a teammate in space with pinpoint passing, something that Jorginho has been doing for Chelsea this season.
He isn’t just limited to passing as he often looks to combine his dribbling ability and clever use of his body to make driving forward runs into the final third.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is also interested in the young Italian but the move to Anfield won’t suit him. The style of play in Merseyside may prove to be a bit too quick and direct for the youngster. Instead, the Brescia man likes to invite pressure in order to open up space in the midfield so that he can make that killer pass to release a forward runner.
Sandro Tonali will learn a lot under Maurizio Sarri and will thrive in the Italian’s system. If the decision of picking a club comes down to him, he should pick Chelsea and fulfil his massive potential.
