The sight of a floppy haired central midfielder with an exquisite range of passing bringing Brescia Calcio from Serie B to the Italian topflight, has fans dreaming of a second coming of Andrea Pirlo.

In Sandro Tonali, there are more than a few shades of Pirlo in his play, but this a youngster who grew up watching a golden generation of Italian midfielders, alongside the Pirlo influences, Tonali draws from the grit of Gennaro Gattuso and the determination of Daniele De Rossi.

If Tonali goes on to have half the career of any of those legendary Italian midfielders, then not only will his club career consist of domestic success and European challenges, but the national team could have a new star in the centre of the pitch, and, just possibly, another one above the badge.

Formed under Brescia

Composure, both on and off the pitch, oozes from Sandro Tonali. The 20-year-old has known rejection, as a boy Tonali was rejected twice by AC Milan after trials with the club, he picked himself up and went to play for Piacenza until the age of 12. Following, Piacenza’s financial struggles, Tonali turned to Brescia Calcio, where he has risen through the ranks.

In the 2017-18 season, a then 17-year-old Tonali made his debut for Brescia and would go on to appear 19 times in Serie B, contributing 2 goals and 3 assists. This experience helped ready the midfield maestro for Brescia’s promotion push in the 2018-19 campaign, where Tonali would solidify his status as a starter for the Biancazzuri, playing 34 times and chipping in with 3 goals and 5 assists, as the club were crowned champions of Serie B.

Brescia fended off interest in Tonali during the summer of 2019, knowing their hopes of surviving their first season in Serie A since 2011 would be far better off with Tonali in their ranks. Though, even with the talented young man anchoring their midfield, Brescia have struggled to get to grips with Serie A. Conceding the 2^nd highest amount of goals in the league and cycling through 3 managers tells its own story, and it’s one that left Brescia rock bottom of Serie A before the enforced break.

As Leeds United fans will know all too well, having Massimo Cellino at the helm of your football club is like riding a very rocky rollercoaster. This season, Brescia have let the man who got them promoted, Eugenio Corini, start the season as the head coach, before turning to World Cup winner Fabio Grosso, then re-hiring Corini, before displacing him for the current holder of the tentative title of Brescia boss, Diego López.

Though not ideal, this managerial merry-go-round has given Tonali the opportunity to impress in more than one role. Under Corini, the midfielder was tasked with anchoring a diamond in midfield, playing as a regista allowing the likes of Dimitri Bisoli and Daniele Dessena to bomb forward. In his short time so far, Diego López has employed the midfielder as an 8 in a pivot with Dessena, which in the home defeat to Napoli showcased Tonali’s potential as an attacking threat with his powerful carries through the centre of the pitch.

Sandro’s Statistics

As Tonali and Brescia took the step up from Serie B, there would be monumental changes to how they would fare on the pitch. From taking on the likes of Padova and Carpi, respectively, to facing Juventus and company. Firstly, Brescia’s would have less time on the ball against tougher competition, in Serie A this season the side rank last for average possession, controlling the ball just 39% of the time.

This limits Tonali’s ability to influence matches and forces him to make the most of the few opportunities available, but that’s where Tonali thrives. The 20-year-old steps up for every corner and free-kick, though Mario Balotelli will indulge himself and take the latter if there’s a sniff of a shot on goal to be had, and his dead-ball delivery is wickedly dangerous, more often than not. Of Tonali’s 5 assists on the season so far, 4 have come from set-piece situations, allowing the likes of Balotelli and Alfredo Donnarumma to attack the ball.

Whilst Brescia do not dominate the ball, they have their exciting moments, counter attacking each and every opposition, they are the second fastest team in the league when it comes to the pace of their attacks, (the average speed of a teams’ build-up in metres-per-second for possessions that end in shots), behind Parma.

In open play, Tonali’s best traits are his desire to make forward passes and his ability to drive the team out of defensive positions. In Serie A this season, Tonali ranks 8^th in progressive passes (a completed pass that travels 10 yards further towards the opponents’ goal than the previous 6 passes) and has made the most key passes for a teenager in Europe’s Top 5 Leagues with 48. Ranking above other illustrious talents like Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies and Real Mallorca’s on-loan Takefusa Kubo, who have played 28 and 20 key passes in the 2019-20 campaign.

What next for Tonali?

Despite the changes at the managerial position and tactical moves on the pitch, Brescia find themselves bottom of the Serie A table and will recognise the increasing likelihood of relegation. Though, that doesn’t particularly change Tonali’s situation, as the midfielder was always unlikely to remain with The Little Swallows past the Summer 2020 transfer window.

Having played himself into Roberto Mancini’s Italy squad ahead of the now-postponed Euro 2020, a move to a bigger club was always on the cards, Cellino may have fended off interest last summer, but will surely be cashing in on Tonali soon.

Every top team in Europe has cast an eye or is keeping tabs on Tonali and his current situation, it would seem Juventus are leading the line, as they so often do for the cream of the crop of Italian talent. Both Milan clubs have been known to be interested in signing Tonali and there has been rumours the likes of PSG, Barcelona and Manchester City are chasing the youngster. Whilst the latest reports are that due to the current footballing climate, Brescia may have to reduce their asking price for their prized possession, with rumours being a €30m bid could be enough to force Brescia to accept.

The next step must be carefully calculated by Tonali, his inevitable move to a bigger team will pose its own challenges, with more possession comes more responsibility. Though the world has seemingly dubbed Tonali the second coming of Andrea Pirlo, the level-headed midfielder laughs off the comparison, blaming it on just one thing, “It’s the hair”. It’s safe to say he isn’t much interested in becoming the next Andrea Pirlo, but rather, the first Sandro Tonali.

Thomas Johnson