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25th October 2023
05:44pm BST
Newcastle United are already preparing for life without Sandro Tonali as they look to find a short-term replacement for the Italian.
Tonali is reportedly set to be handed a 10-month suspension from all football-related activity after illegally betting on football matches.
He admitted to betting on his own teams to win matches, including when he was at AC Milan, while the 23-year-old’s agent said that Tonali is a gambling addict.
It comes less than four months after the Magpies paid £52m to sign him from the Serie A side and as a result, the club are allegedly considering taking legal action against Milan as well as not paying Tonali's salary for the duration of his ban.
In the meantime, to cope with losing one of their star players, Eddie Howe has reportedly drawn up a four-man shortlist of names that could replace the midfielder.
Inews have claimed that Manchester City's Kalvin Phillips could be one of those. With Phillips lacking game-time, a loan move to the north east and the proposition of Champions League football would be an attractive one, but whether Pep Guardiola would sanction the move to a team considered a rival at the top of the Premier League is another story.
Scott McTominay, who has previously been linked with a move to St James' Park, is another said to be under consideration while The Athletic are claiming that Newcastle could even make ambitious moves to try and sign one of Fulham’s Joao Palhinha or Everton's Amadou Onana.
Palhinha would seem the most unlikely of the four given that he almost joined Bayern Munich in the summer only to sign a new contract at the Cottagers shortly after the move broke down.
Onana is also one of Everton's standout players and it would be considered a huge blow to Sean Dyche if he were to leave the Toffees.
McTominay meanwhile is in a good run of form with Manchester United and at international level with Scotland which is only likely going to want Erik ten Hag to keep him at the club.
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