Eddie Howe is determined to bring out the best in Sandro Tonali and believes he can shine alongside Bruno Guimaraes.
The Newcastle coach acknowledged that the £55 million Italian midfielder has had limited time with his teammates due to a thigh injury and international duties. Tonali had an impressive start to the season against Aston Villa but had less time to adapt to the team's style of play.
Howe urged everyone not to judge new signings too harshly and pointed out that Tonali faced added pressure when he faced his former club AC Milan in the Champions League. Tonali himself admitted to a challenging start at Newcastle but praised his teammates and staff for their hard work to build a winning team.
Howe said: "There is no doubt we can get the best out of him. In the short period of time he has been here, his performance against Aston Villa was high level."
"There was no surprise that that performance against Villa came when he’d been with us for pre season which is four and a bit weeks of intense work getting to know his team mates."
"Since then he has hardly trained with us. There have been internationals, injury. I think he has had one training session in nearly a month. Which then gives you a clue."
"That is tough for any new player transitioning into a team. You need to train regularly. He is adapting well. He is an incredible personality, very stable, committed to the project here and he will grow as time goes on."
Talking about Tonali and Guimareas' relationship, Howe added: "I get the point but they can play with each other. They are two top level players with very similar brains. Making sure both players fit into our team structure and our midfield is functioning is a big part of our success."
"I want Sandro to be himself, an outstanding technician and a very good athlete. For me, he can play all of the positions in midfield. But we need to give him time. I don’t think we can judge him, or any signings, within a month. Let’s take our time and be patient, because I know the quality of the players that we have."
