Eddie Howe was questioned in his press conference on the recent Sandro Tonali gambling news. Tonali is being investigated following bets that he was making on AC Milan whilst playing for them.
Ahead of Newcastle’s game tomorrow against Crystal Palace, Howe isn’t underestimating the opposition:
“First, Roy [Hodgson] has done an incredible job, going back there in a difficult moment for the team.
“He has brought stability as he does everywhere. He brings organisation, a real structure. His teams are very difficult to play against and difficult to score against, defensively they are very good.
“They still have very dangerous players, who can hurt you in transition. We can’t underestimate the challenge.”
Howe speaks on the Tonali and how crucial it is to support him through this tough period:
“I got a phone call from [director of football] Dan Ashworth during the international break. It was a total surprise to me, to him, to everybody. These are things when you’re in this job that can happen.
“My immediate thought process was to make sure Sandro was OK. It has been a very difficult period for him.
“Footballers are human beings. To look at them any other way is wrong. They have, as we all have, weaknesses, vulnerabilities. Things that happen can be difficult. The main thing is to try and identify it as we always do and try to help them get to the best level on football pitch.
“The most important part of the whole incident is Sandro and his welfare. It’s very easy to forget how young he is. He’s had changes in his life – coming from Italy to England. That is hard enough to deal with and now he has this situation.
“As a football club, straight away we will throw our arms around him, protect him, try to give him the love and support he needs to find solutions to problems he’s had.
“[That’s] what we’re endeavouring to do with a lot of conversations, a lot of communication with him and his family. Not just with Sandro, talking to people around him will be so important.”
Howe also gives an update on injured players including Joelinton, Sven Botman, Alexander Isak and Joe Willock:
“Alex hasn’t trained with us yet so we’re going to leave it late to see if he’s fit and available.
“We hope Joelinton will be back this weekend. He’s trained well and looked good. he’s done a lot of work so I’m confident as I sit here now that he’s going to be OK and hopefully he’ll return to the form we know he can produce. A huge player for us.
“Sven is improving and the two weeks have been good for him.
“I want him (Willock) back but we have to do it sensibly. He’s trained this week for the first time with the group. It’s probably a bit early for him to be involved in the matchday squad, but he’s getting closer. He’s a huge player for us.”
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