22 September 2023 , 10:30
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Eddie Howe has vowed to get the best out of Sandro Tonali - and insisted he can thrive alongside Bruno Guimaraes.
The United coach has admitted the £55m Italy midfielder has only had one tactical session with his team mates in the past month. Tonali made a stunning start to the season against Aston Villa, but has been hampered by a thigh injury and been away on international duty limiting the time Newcastle coaches have had to drill him into their team’s system.
Howe has called for any new signing not to “be judged too harshly” as the spotlight fell on Tonali when he returned to his former club AC Milan in the Champions League last week. He admitted he’d found his start at Newcastle difficult, but said he found “beautiful” teammates and staff “working 24/7” to create a winning team.
Newcastle’s midfield formula hasn’t been as powerful as last season, with left-sided Joelinton and Joe Willock currently injured, and Sean Longstaff proving again worth on the right against Milan, where Tonali has played. Howe said: “There is no doubt we can get the best out of him. In the short period of time he has been here, his performance against Aston Villa was high level.
“There was no surprise that that performance against Villa came when he’d been with us for pre season which is four and a bit weeks of intense work getting to know his team mates.
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"Since then he has hardly trained with us. There have been internationals, injury. I think he has had one training session in nearly a month. Which then gives you a clue.
“That is tough for any new player transitioning into a team. You need to train regularly. He is adapting well. He is an incredible personality, very stable, committed to the project here and he will grow as time goes on.”
Eddie Howe is confident Newcastle's midfield will improve as the season goes on (Getty Images for Premier League)Tonali and playmaker Guimareas need to build a relationship in the coming months and Howe added: “I get the point but they can play with each other. They are two top level players with very similar brains. Making sure both players fit into our team structure and our midfield is functioning is a big part of our success.
“I want Sandro to be himself, an outstanding technician and a very good athlete. For me, he can play all of the positions in midfield.
“But we need to give him time. I don’t think we can judge him, or any signings, within a month. Let’s take our time and be patient, because I know the quality of the players that we have.”
Newcastle’s flight home from Milan was delayed and the players are adjusting to having tough midweek games in Europe, and having to bounce back against Sheffield United on Sunday.
It’s a fresh challenge this season and Howe says there is an unmeasurable “emotional” toll as well as an extra physical demand. This is being managed by stars who started the game “not training fully, at our maximum”.
Howe says the next few days, including a Carabao Cup clash with Manchester City, will define the “momentum” of the early season. He added: “The league is forming, momentum is forming and we want to be on the right end of that. It is a new challenge this year with largely the same group of players. Want to take the pressure off them and to play at their best level.”