Sandro Tonali: What kind of player are Inter and Juventus targeting?

8:30am on Tuesday 9th June 2020
By Martin Macdonald

Sandro Tonali is one of the world's most coveted young players.

In his debut season in Serie A, he has been the one ray of sunshine in a Brescia side who will go down as one of the worst teams in the league's history, having picked up just 16 points from 26 games so far in 2019/20.

We looked at how Inter are currently leading the race to sign the 20-year-old ahead of Juventus.

Tonali is featuring in a team that has won just four matches all season; Brescia average just 42% possession (the lowest in the league), yet Tonali still manages to record 60.3 touches P90 (2nd-highest in the squad).

TONALI v Inter AND JUVE MIDFIELDERS

Additional metrics - 19/20

Stat	Tonali	Pjanic	Bentancur	Barella	Brozovic
xA	4.63	1.58	2.8	1.79	2.03
Key Pass P90	2.1	1.4	1.9	1.1	1.5
Big Chances Created	5	1	6	2	1
Recoveries	7.7	7.0	6.3	6.6	6.2
Comp Dribbles P90	1.4	0.6	1.2	1.8	1.0
Serie A mins only

Again, taking into account the clear lack of quality in the Brescia team, Tonali's statistics for such a young man are definitely worth exploring further.

Tonali contributes more Key Passes P90 than Miralem Pjanic and Rodrigo Bentancur of Juventus, and Nicolo Barella and Marcelo Brozovic of Inter, the four players who feature regular in the centre for their respective clubs.

He has five assists on an xA score of 4.63, all of which have came from set-pieces. Because the obvious comparisons to Andrea Pirlo in where he plays and how he looks are also bolstered by an enviable dead ball. He has whip, pace and speed on his crosses and the fact he even has the responsibility highlights Tonali's all-round influence and presence in this Brescia team. That in itself is impressive.

He has more recoveries than the four other players listed, which is understandable considering how Brescia spend far more time out of possession, but his dribbles statistic is worth noting. His 1.4 completed dribbles P90 is superior to all with the exception of Barella and his composure, close control and overall temperament really does give the image of a player far older than one who turned 20 just over a month ago.

Tonali, quite simply, passes the eye test. An elegant footballer who is ready made to take the step up - Inter know exactly what they are getting. A player who could lock down their midfield for the next decade and beyond.

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