‘Definitely’ - First Newcastle United player speaks out on Sandro Tonali after £100m Spurs move
Newcastle United are set to reunite with another former hero against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
Harvey Barnes has promised “no niceness” when Newcastle United face Sandro Tonali this weekend.
Alexander Isak already faced the wrath of the Toon boo boys last Sunday. On that occasion, the hostile home support clearly affected the Swede, who also turned down a last-minute penalty to silence the critics.
Tonali will have the majority of the stadium on his side tomorrow but a 3,000-strong travelling contingent are expected to make their voices heard. Newcastle fans will roar on a Matthias Jaissle side on the road for the first time in the Premier League.
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Harvey Barnes on Sandro Tonali
Ahead of the clash, in-form winger Barnes - who bagged a brace on Wednesday against West Bromwich Albion - insisted Newcastle players will show no special treatment to their former teammate.
When asked if he is looking forward to facing Tonali, the 28-year-old said: "Yeah, definitely. We've had a great few years with him. He's on the other team for 90 minutes on Saturday, so there'll be no niceness on the pitch but afterwards there will be, 100 per cent. He's a familiar face and we know him well."
Newcastle United in transition
Barnes remains fully aware that the Magpies are in transition this season but is preferring to take the positive approach. He added: "I think there's going to be a lot of clubs like that this year. We've got different things going on.
“Like I said there's different managers, different players coming in, there's a lot of clubs in the same boat, so you can't underestimate anyone. You've just got to go with it, with the preparation and a game plan to go and win, that's exactly what we'll do.
“It'll also be great to go and get our first (away) win there. But we'll just do all our prep, make sure we're ready to go and see what we're up against.”
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