Tottenham concern raised over Sandro Tonali despite ‘very promising’ signs vs Nottingham Forest
Sandro Tonali will eventually come good for Tottenham after his latest showing.
That is the verdict of Spurs expert John Wenham, after he completed his second full 90 minutes in the 0-0 draw with Nottingham Forest.
Tonali was brought in by Roberto De Zerbi for a club-record figure of £100million, but has not hit the heights expected of him.
He has featured in all three of Spurs' Premier League games so far, for a total of 255 minutes.
The only game he did not play until full time in was the 2-0 loss to Newcastle, when he was replaced after 75 minutes.
However, the Lilywhite Rose account owner has raised a concern over the Italian midfielder already.
What is the concern over Sandro Tonali at Tottenham?
The fact that he has featured so much, makes De Zerbi's comments look pretty peculiar.
The Spurs manager had claimed that he was not fully fit after the loss to Newcastle.
He said: “He is not in the right condition, in the best condition yet, maybe physically, even though he worked with us at the beginning of the pre-season.”
Wenham is concerned about that verdict, and speaking exclusively to Tottenham News, he said: "I'm a bit concerned that this whole thing about Tonali not being match fit, I don't really understand that.
"When he arrived on day three of pre-season, he had to get his work permit, he couldn't start on day one, but he was there by day three.
"He didn't go to the World Cup, I don't understand how he's not match fit. And when De Zerbi keeps saying that, it kind of leaves me a bit surprised.
"He got a full 90 minutes under his belt against Forest, and he'll now have a whole other week of training, he's got to be ready to put in another good performance against Everton because the clips and things like that will focus on that goal, should he have cleared it off the line first time? Yeah, he should have done.
"His overall performance yesterday was actually very good and very promising from Tonali, I've got no doubts about that his quality will begin to shine through."
How has Tonali performed so far?
Tonali has been solid but not spectacular, he has completed 85.7 per cent of his passes and created 0.71 chances for teammates per game.
Defensively, he has averaged 7.06 contributions, with 1.76 tackles, 3.53 recoveries and 0.35 clearances per 90 minutes, according to Fotmob data.
The Italian midfielder has won 57.9 per cent of the ground duels that he has attempted, with a 100 per cent success rate in the air.
Hopefully, with the price that the N17 outfit paid for his services, and the fact he completed the full 90 against Forest, he can be on top form when his side host Everton.