The subject of high praise from Andrea Pirlo, the young defensive midfielder has received more acclaim from his manager
Sandro Tonali is reportedly on Juventus‘ and Inter‘s radar and Brescia coach Diego Lopez believes the in-demand midfielder has “no limits”.
Tonali, who played a key role in Brescia’s promotion from Serie B last season, has again starred for the club despite their position at the bottom of Serie A.
Nine points adrift of safety when the coronavirus pandemic brought the season to a halt back in March, Brescia look doomed to an immediate return to the second tier. However, Tonali appears likely to remain in the top-flight with one of the league’s elite and is said to prefer Inter over Juve.
Asked about the 20-year by Corriere della Sera, Lopez said: “There’s a lot of talk about him, and rightly so, but he’s just a young lad who is in love with the ball.
“I can’t give him advice on what to do off the pitch. As a player, I’d say he can still improve. He has it all, but he can get even better. He has no limits.
“I really like him in front of the defence. I see him versatile like [Radja] Nainggolan in the middle of the field.”
5 – Sandro #Tonali is the 2nd youngest player that provided at least 5 assists in the Top-5 European Leagues this season, behind only Alphonso Davies. Wonderkid. pic.twitter.com/TBeyaGkINh
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) June 5, 2020
Tonali has drawn comparisons to legendary Italy midfielder Andrea Pirlo, who also began his career at Brescia.
Pirlo recently described Tonali as a “more complete player” than he was, much to the astonishment of the current Azzurri international, who has already won three caps for his country.
“Let’s say that Pirlo gave the right answer,” Tonali told Sportweek. “We don’t play like each other – but to say that I’m a more complete player than he was…
“When two of my friends sent me the Instagram live in which he said that, I stayed still. I’m still speechless now. All I can say to him is, thank you.
“I’d rather say what I’d like to learn from him. The long pass from deep, accurate to within a millimetre. I’m better at short passes today. Which, to tell you the truth, comes even more natural to me than the long pass.
“I know that with the right sacrifices, I can reach the top of the world. I haven’t achieved half of what I have in mind, but I feel good enough to make it.”
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