Sandro Tonali is unlikely to have dreamt of a better Newcastle United debut than his performance against Aston Villa yesterday.
The Italian midfielder helped Newcastle start their campaign with a 5-1 victory that sees them currently sitting at the top of the Premier League.
Speaking on the Football Daily Podcast, Pat Nevin was very impressed with the 23-year-old.
There’s been plenty of excitement at St. James’ Park around the arrival of Sandro Tonali.
A boyhood AC Milan fan, he left the Italian giants for Newcastle in a move worth £55m this summer.
Midfield didn’t appear to be an area that needed immediate attention going into the new season.
Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton, Sean Longstaff and Joe Willock all starred last season.
However, with a Champions League campaign to prepare for, Eddie Howe would have been looking to build on last year’s success.
Nevin couldn’t hide his excitement about Tonali’s debut for Newcastle against Aston Villa.
In a game filled with brilliant performances from the home side, his might have been the most impressive.
Tonali stars on Newcastle debut vs Aston Villa
Speaking about Newcastle’s midfield, Nevin said: “The power and the ability in that midfield now looks actually quite frightening for most teams in the Premier League.
“Certainly Joelinton, we know he’s improved as a player but I think he was a good player anyway but he’s now in his right position.
“[Bruno] Guimaraes, we know he’s a quality player but they were on outshone.
“[Sandro] Tonali today completely dominated a top-level fixture in the Premier League against a highly-rated side as if he was smoking a cigar.
“He was brilliant today from start to finish and if he can keep up that style and that standard for the rest of the season and control games like that, Newcastle top four is pretty close to a certainty.”
Newcastle fans will be hoping Tonali can put in performances like the one he did against Aston Villa on a weekly basis.
He appears to have already struck up a good relationship with Bruno Guimaraes.
Tonali has also earned the praise of Newcastle hero Alan Shearer, who thought he was perfect yesterday.
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