I was with the Newcastle United fans that embraced Sandro Tonali - he could be their best summer ‘signing’

A Round Two Carabao Cup match should be about the first step to Wembley - the dreams of what could be when March rolls around. However, Wednesday night for me and the thousands of others in black and white at the City Ground, was about one man.

Sandro Tonali.

From the moment the draw was made, all attention turned to whether the Italian would make his long awaited return to the team after ten months out. And from the second you walked into The Nest, a great little fan zone attached to Notts County’s Meadow Lane, Tonali was the only thing anyone wanted to talk about.

‘Will he start? What will he be like? He’s surely a little rusty?’

One minute in, well, 18 seconds to be precise, and all of those fears were allayed when, with his very first touch in over ten months, he played a delicate ball to Miguel Almiron. That was then shifted to Alexander Isak before Joe Willock tapped home into an empty net. 

1-0 Newcastle United.

And that so could have been 2-0 had Tonali, just moments later, snuck his effort past the six-foot-eight frame of Carlos Miguel in the Forest goal. It was a blistering start from Newcastle United and Tonali was right at the centre of proceedings.

Whilst it didn’t go all their own way, Willock being substituted early on will be a massive worry, Tonali was an assured presence in the middle of the park and had that spark of class with the ball at his feet for the hour he was on the park.

Every tackle, every touch was followed by a chant of ‘Sandro Ole Ole Ole’ from the away end as he and his teammates were given the love of the travelling fans. By the time he was replaced by Sean Longstaff in the 62nd minute, Tonali had showed enough that he could be the club’s biggest ‘signing’ of the summer and someone that, alongside Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton, Willock and Longstaff, can be their midfield maestro.

Admittedly, as the game drew to a close thoughts of Tonali and his return faded as a nervous energy shimmered its way around the City Ground. Penalties it was to be.

Memories of their defeat in this competition in a shootout against Chelsea in December still hurt, but the Magpies were able to banish those demons and it was fitting that Longstaff was the one to score the winning kick with a cool finish. That kick sparked the home fans to turn and head for the exits, whilst jubilation erupted at the other end of the stadium.

And again, Tonali was the man chosen for their love. An embrace with supporters and an Italian flag showed the bond between player and fans whilst it was also clear his teammates appreciated that this was Tonali’s moment with beaming smiles across the squad as Tonali lauded in the adulation.

Eventually, fans left the City Ground but the singing did not. Spurs are up next for Newcastle United with the best part of 50,000 set to grant Tonali a second homecoming.