Newcastle's recruitment team got together and discussed whether or not to pursue Declan Rice earlier this summer.
The expectation has long been that the West Ham star would move on as he sought Champions League football. Newcastle are one of four Premier League sides who can currently offer him that and club chiefs at St James' Park considered rivalling the likes of Arsenal.
Ultimately though Newcastle decided that the £100m price tag, coupled with the wages he would demand, would be beyond them and no moves were made, reports the Telegraph. Instead attention turned to who else could they sign that could perform a similar role and a greatly reduced price.
Rice is set to move to the Emirates for over £100m and the Magpies are set to bag Sandro Tonali for effectively half of that at £52m. The Italian, who skippers AC Milan, has long been highly-rated in Serie A and the Magpies feared he was beyond them, but a deal is now imminent.
A one senior source has said: “He is a player we did not think in May would come, he was a player we feared was out of reach to us, but we’ve managed to get one of the best young midfield players in Europe who we believe will be just as good as Declan Rice over the next few years."
Tonali and Inter Milan’s Nicolo Barella stood out as two major targets after Newcastle had scoured Europe's top five leagues. The Magpies became aware that Milan were in far greater need of cash than Inter, who could withstand bids for Barella whilst their neighbours were more likely to accept any offer.
The midfielder has agreed personal terms and Newcastle just had to nail the structure of the deal and those in the north east believe they've got their man who is viewed as an elite player with a huge scope for improvement.
The Champions League new boys were not looking for a No 6 or a No 8 with Howe taking more of an old school approach to midfielders, seeking players who can cover all areas and perform in both boxes - Tonali fitted that mould. There is also a hope that he will free Bruno Guimarães to be more effective in the final third.
Newcastle though are eyeing a big pre-season for Tonali with an acceptance that the Italian needs to be stronger and fitter to play in a Howe team. The Magpies first play Arsenal in early November, which could pitch Tonali and Rice against each other as Howe and his staff look to see whether they made the right call.
