Sandro Tonali’s English is now “unbelievable,” according to Dan Burn, after the banned midfielder’s initial adjustment period at Newcastle United was “quite hard” due to a language barrier.
Having never left his native Italy, Tonali joined Newcastle from AC Milan in the summer of last year. The Italy international acknowledged that he was initially “lost.” This was even before Tonali was suspended for ten months in October for violating the wagering laws.
Tonali, 23, has been taking intensive English classes. After finding it “extremely tough” at first to communicate with his teammates and manager Eddie Howe, he has praised their “support.” Even though Tonali will obviously be unable to play until August, being able to communicate more openly with those around him will be essential as he trains and eats with them on a daily basis.
Although Burn insisted the players had nothing to do with it, Tonali has actually become quite popular in the dressing room after visiting the Job Bulman in Gosforth a few days after scoring on his debut against Aston Villa.
Concerning the purported prank, the defender told the Fozcast, “I want to tell you it’s true, but it’s genuinely not.” “I’m not sure how it came about.
“He said, ‘I need to go to a restaurant.’ I’m not sure if it was someone he knew, but I’m pretty sure that Wetherspoons would be near the top of TripAdvisor if you type in the area that he went in because that many people go there.
To be fair to him, Wetherspoons is a very sophisticated man. The boys had caught on to the fact that he had called and made a reservation.
It was difficult because he didn’t speak English well when he first arrived. You want to involve him in everything, but it’s difficult because you can’t communicate and he speaks such amazing English these days. The other day, I was saying to him, “Wow, your English is much better than I thought it was.”
