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Sandro Tonali has spoken in detail about his decision to join Tottenham Hotspur in a £100 million move from Newcastle United. The Italy midfielder explained why he made it a priority to help his former club secure a major fee, while also revealing how talks with new manager Roberto De Zerbi convinced him that Spurs were the right choice for both his family and his career.

Tonali has now completed his switch to Tottenham in a huge £100m transfer from Newcastle this summer. The 26-year-old Italy international brought an end to his three-year stay at St James’ Park as he looked for a new challenge under De Zerbi. With Eddie Howe having left his role as Magpies manager, Tonali made it clear that he felt a personal responsibility to ensure Newcastle received the highest possible value for his departure.

Speaking to the Daily Mail in Sydney, Tonali said he wanted Newcastle to get the strongest deal possible in recognition of what the club had done for him in his career: “The first thing was to get the best deal for Newcastle.

“I met there some of the best people for football. They love football. They live for football. When I decided to move, I said to my agent and to Ross Wilson that I wanted the best deal for Newcastle because they deserve everything. This is football. Sometimes you have to understand how everything can change in your life in five minutes.”

He then explained that Newcastle’s £100m valuation effectively ended any realistic chance of a return to Serie A because of the financial constraints faced by clubs in Italy, and that this eventually pushed him towards Spurs: “We stayed three years in Newcastle and after three years, we spoke all together, me and my family. It was impossible for the money.

“For the salary, you can speak all the time, but if you don’t find the money for the transfer, you don’t have the chance to move. England was our solution and we found the best solution in England for me, for my career, for my football, for my happiness, for my family. I spoke with two teams. I understood after 10, 15 minutes that Tottenham would be my next team.”

Tonali, who had also attracted interest from Manchester City, pointed to the key influence of De Zerbi and the level of conviction shown by Spurs when they spoke to him and his family: “After the last season, I spoke with my wife. We wanted to change our life. Not just for the city. We wanted to change everything.

“We spoke with two clubs. When we spoke with Tottenham, we decided to sign for this team. They spoke with 100 per cent passion, 100 per cent seriousness. For this city, for my life outside of football for my family, OK, it’s like 10 per cent.

“Roberto and the director made the difference to the deal. I spoke after two minutes with my wife and my family and I said, ‘Probably it will be one of my best decisions of my career’. She told me, ‘You have 100 per cent the control over this decision’.”

The midfielder also shared the message De Zerbi gave as he looked to inspire the Tottenham squad ahead of the new campaign: “Roberto said the project will be tough but will be perfect for me, for you, for the city, an we can do one of the best seasons because we have big players. We just have to put a lot of work in.”

As part of their midfield rebuild, Spurs have also spent £85m to sign Mateus Fernandes from West Ham. Speaking about his new standing as a £100m footballer, Tonali said he is prepared to deal with the expectation that comes with such a fee: “You have to understand that this is football. The price is different now to 10 years ago.

“I know I have a lot of pressure but I know I’m a football player, I know my responsibilities, I know this team, I know the people here. I have to play like I’m a normal player, a normal Tottenham player, with passion, putting my energy in every day. It’s not £1m, £10m, or £100m. You just have to be a passionate player for this gaffer.”

Tonali had earlier spent 10 years in Italy with Brescia, the hometown of De Zerbi, where the pair developed a special bond. Looking back on his first impressions of life under De Zerbi, Tonali said: “We spoke about him, about his work, about the passion that he puts into every single moment with the team for this work and I think now, after two weeks, I know everything is real.”

He finished by drawing a contrast between Howe’s style at Newcastle and the tactical methods De Zerbi is now putting in place at Tottenham: “All gaffers are different. I passed three years with Eddie and he was fantastic, especially for me. But now I’ve found a different gaffer who works a lot on the pitch, a lot with the tactics, a lot with the ball. We love to play with the ball because we are a big team with big players.”