Sandro Tonali’s road to redemption at Newcastle isn’t over yet | Newcastle United

WWhen Eddie Howe began to explain how he had fallen head over heels in love, everyone in the room knew he meant it. The Newcastle manager is a stranger to exaggeration, doesn’t really do anecdotes and rarely divulges anything personal, so this had to be something out of the ordinary.

It was last August and Howe was discussing his new £53million signing, Sandro Tonali. “I went to see AC Milan play and I fell in love with Sandro,” he enthused. “I was delighted, surprised and excited that we were able to sign him. He’s an extraordinary talent.”

Earlier that afternoon, the Italian midfielder had made a stunning, almost gladiatorial debut in the Premier League, scoring a sublime opening goal and dictating play as Newcastle defeated Aston Villa 5-1 at St James’ Park.

The home supporter chorus of “Sandro Tonali, drink Moretti, eat spaghetti” had barely died down when Tyneside’s new hero further endeared himself to his new audience by dining out at a Wetherspoon pub in the suburb of Gosforth. It’s not the sort of venue usually frequented by multi-millionaire footballers, but whether or not the then 23-year-old was enticed by team-mates playing practical jokes, Tonali and his Milanese fashion designer girlfriend Juliette Pastore took a Wetherspoon into their elegant stride. After the pair had taken plenty of selfies with an excited and excited crowd of staff and customers, everyone agreed on one thing: Sandro was “a good lad”.

No one realised that a peak had been reached. In later games, Tonali suffered a significant loss of form, leading to fears that he was homesick for San Siro and his beloved Milan. The reality was infinitely more complicated. Tonali was a gambling addict whose secret was about to be revealed.

On Wednesday night on the banks of the Trent, the playmaker with a distinctly Andrea Pirlo aesthetic is expected to play his first game in 10 months when Newcastle visit Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup. As those ever-familiar sounds of “drink Moretti, eat spaghetti” drift down from the line-up, there will no doubt be a moment to reflect on the long, arduous metres of a very personal journey of redemption.

After admitting his gambling addiction in October last year, Tonali was given a 10-month worldwide ban for breaching gambling regulations and had his £120,000-a-week wages at Newcastle significantly reduced.

“I think Sandro can start straight away,” Howe said. “Physically he’s very fit, he just needs to be sharp for the game. He’s ready to play but he won’t be at his best for another month or so.”

Although Tonali was unable to play in friendly matches with registered match officials, he did recently play a behind closed doors match against Burnley with the coaching staff acting as referee.

In early October last year, he was on international duty in Italy when it emerged that Turin police, investigating an illegal gambling ring, had raided the team’s base in Coverciano before leaving with Tonali in the back of one of their vehicles. A “stunned” Howe heard the news in a phone call from Dan Ashworth, Newcastle’s then sporting director. “It was a massive shock,” Ashworth would later say. “It came out of nowhere.”

Tonali quickly admitted that he had placed bets on Milan matches during his time at the Serie A club. He was given a three-year ban under Italian Football Federation and FIFA rules, but openness about his betting problems and full cooperation with civil and football authorities led to a degree of leniency.

In the past 10 months, Tonali, who was later given a two-month suspended ban by the English Football Association, has gone from speaking a few words of English to an impressive fluency.

In between regular trips to Milan for addiction therapy, the former Italy Under-21 captain trained almost full-time at Newcastle, where executives are generally sympathetic to the tricky but symbiotic relationship between gambling and sport.

In their spare time, Tonali and Pastore have been exploring the coast and countryside of the North East, chatting and taking selfies with locals along the way, and the midfielder has appeared at community events organised by his club’s charity.

“He’s a really cool guy,” Howe said. “He’s not outwardly emotional. You don’t see that big ‘I’m back’ grin. He’s emotionally contained and very strong; he’s like me in that he doesn’t show his emotions. I’m sure he’s had a few tough days, but I haven’t seen any evidence of that. I know he’s been a great teammate. I’m really looking forward to seeing him play again. I’m definitely excited about it.”

Much has clearly changed in the 11 months since Giuseppe Riso, Tonali’s agent, acknowledged that his client was facing “the biggest challenge” of a career that has so far been gilded. “Sandro is shocked,” Riso said. “He knows he made a mistake. I hope this experience will save his life and the lives of others with the same addictions.”

Since gambling is prohibited in Saudi Arabia and haram (forbidden) in Islam, Newcastle’s Saudi-controlled majority ownership will no doubt have appreciated the hypocrisy surrounding the club’s commercial partnerships with three online betting companies. Should Tonali be introduced as a replacement when Howe’s side host Tottenham on Sunday, he will almost certainly be warming up against a flickering backdrop of electronic billboards regularly promoting betting on running rotation.

This means Howe can hardly complain if, as part of his punishment, Tonali travels to Italy at least 16 times during the week over the next eight months to warn footballers at all levels about the dangers of gambling and to visit addiction clinics.

“I don’t think you overcome an addiction,” Howe said. “I think you live with it, so I don’t want to minimize the battle that Sandro is going to have to fight for the rest of his life.

“But he really showed mental toughness. I think you’ll see a much better player because of it. I think you’ll see a much stronger person in the end. I think you find more strength in adversity than you thought you had.”