Eddie Howe has revealed that Sandro Tonali took a voluntary pay cut because he felt the ‘guilt’ of being banned so soon after joining Newcastle.
The midfielder had made just 12 appearances following his £52million move from AC Milan when he was hit with a 10-month suspension for illegal gambling in Italy.
Tonali continued betting on football as a Newcastle player and was this week given a suspended two-month ban by the Football Association. He will return to action at the end of August.
The 23-year-old has not received his full, £120,000-per-week salary while unable to play, and Howe said as cited by Sports Central: ‘It was something he wanted to do. He felt the guilt, and he felt that joining a new club it was something he wanted to show the club, in good faith, that he was sorry and was determined to put it behind him and try to learn from it. ‘They are all really good signs, I think, for the future, that we've got a very good human being in the football club and someone who is keen to show all the good he can do for Newcastle United.’
Howe had identified Tonali as the player who would help his team evolve this season, but his loss has had a major impact, as the head coach said: ‘We have missed his technical ability, his ability to play different positions in a season where you’re stretched by injuries. ‘He would have been a big, big player for us. He would have driven us to get some key results. The players have felt his loss as well. That has been a negative for the players to see him train and then not be able to play.’
Howe added: ‘Without a doubt (he’ll feel like a new signing). It will be a huge thing for us. We’ve had him in our training numbers all year and there are times when you’re looking at what you can do with the team and you accidentally put him in the team, and you go, “Oh no, I can’t!”. ‘It’s been a huge frustration to have a top-quality player that you can’t use. I know what he can do and the difference he’ll have made this year, but it wasn’t to be. ‘But I think for us, and for him, from this situation good comes of it, that he's able to learn and develop to the English style. Ultimately, it could be something that he looks back on in a few years’ time and goes, “Actually, you know what, that helped me settle into England”.
He added: ‘He's still relatively quiet within the group, but I think that's just his personality. That's not in a negative way, that's just he's really focused on his football, on improving his game. ‘You wouldn't necessarily see what's going on beneath the surface and I'm sure he's had really difficult moments in the past few months. I'm sure he's had days where he's felt worse than others, but he's conducted himself in a really positive way.’
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