Roberto De Zerbi says Sandro Tonali will start against Newcastle on Saturday, after the £100m midfielder was left out of the squad for Tottenham’s second-round Carabao Cup tie at home to Charlton Athletic on Tuesday night.

A much-changed Spurs side beat the Championship club 5-1, with a debut cameo from Savio and goals from Mikey Moore, Dominic Solanke and Kevin Danso. Tonali watched from the stands.

De Zerbi framed the absence as a planned fitness block rather than any setback, and cast the matter forward to the Newcastle fixture in his post-match press conference.

“Sandro was in a plan to work with Marco Senesi yesterday, very strong, to improve their physical condition. Sandro has to work to feel better in terms of physical condition, but Saturday he will play in the first XI, without problems.”

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First meeting since the £100m move

Saturday will be the first time Tonali faces Newcastle since completing a club-record £100m switch to Tottenham on 6 July. The deal was structured as a £92.5m base fee plus £7.5m in achievable add-ons.

Newcastle had signed the Italy midfielder from AC Milan in the summer of 2023. That move was quickly followed by a ten-month worldwide ban issued by the Italian Football Federation for breaches of the country’s betting rules, running from 27 October 2023 and later ratified by FIFA. He lost most of his first season on Tyneside to it.

De Zerbi, appointed on a five-year deal in March 2026, pursued Tonali across the summer. On unveiling the signing, the head coach called him “a special player and a great signing for our club” and noted the personal link: he grew up in Brescia, where Tonali came through the youth ranks.

Saturday at 5:30pm

Kick-off at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is 5:30pm local time on Saturday 29 August, after the Premier League moved the fixture into a later Saturday broadcast window.

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Both sides go in looking for a first league win of the season. Spurs were beaten 3-0 at Brentford on the opening weekend.

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