Tottenham Hotspur have agreed a deal worth up to £100m with Newcastle United to sign midfielder Sandro Tonali this summer.
Spurs will pay an initial £92.5m for the Italian, with a further £7.5m available in add-ons, after a previous bid of around £80m was rejected by Newcastle.
The agreement surpasses the £85m deal Tottenham struck with West Ham this week for midfielder Mateus Fernandes, setting a new club record for a second time in seven days.
BBC Sport previously reported that Spurs manager Roberto De Zerbi is a long-time admirer of Tonali, having first identified him as a target during his time at Sassuolo.
De Zerbi spotted his fellow Italian during Tonali’s time playing in Serie A, and the move now represents the fulfilment of a long-held ambition for the Spurs boss.
Manchester City and Arsenal also showed interest in Tonali, though neither club made a formal approach, leaving Tottenham free to push through the deal.
De Zerbi made his ambitions clear at the end of last season following a 1-0 win against Everton that kept Spurs in the Premier League on the final day.
“My target is to start the pre-season with the team I have in my dream,” he said in his final news conference of the campaign.
That dream is now taking shape rapidly, with defenders Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi arriving on free transfers alongside the significant outlay on Fernandes and Tonali.
Should the Tonali deal be completed, Spurs will have spent a combined £237m on Jan Paul van Hecke, Mateus Fernandes, and Tonali alone this window.
The club finished 17th in back-to-back Premier League seasons, but are clearly benefiting from strong off-the-field revenues as they look to rebuild under De Zerbi.
For Newcastle, the picture is far less comfortable, having now effectively lost Alexander Isak, Anthony Gordon, and Tonali within the space of less than a year.
The club have so far only signed 20-year-old goalkeeper Ewen Jaouen, who has never played top-flight football and is expected to serve as a deputy this season.
Newcastle also missed out on forward Victor Munoz, who joined Liverpool, meaning reinforcements remain urgently needed ahead of pre-season.
With the window moving quickly and the new campaign fast approaching, there is very little margin for error for Newcastle’s recruitment team.
