By Alan Hutton

17th Sep, 2023 | 7:00am

Sandro Tonali is the man with the 'X factor' Newcastle have been craving - pundit

Sandro Tonali is the “maverick” Newcastle United have been missing.

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, former Tottenham and Aston Villa defender Alan Hutton praised Newcastle’s recruitment in recent windows and suggested players like Tonali could be the difference for the side.

The Magpies spent around £132million this summer bringing in Tonali alongside Harvey Barnes, Tino Livramento and youngster Yankuba Minteh.

Chelsea’s Lewis Hall also joined on loan for the 2023-24 campaign.

But Eddie Howe’s side have had a rocky start to the season, winning just one of their opening four matches.

When asked if the Magpies have made the right additions to their squad this summer, Hutton told Football Insider:

“I think if you look at all their additions since the manager has come in, I think Eddie Howe is doing it step by step.

“We all thought at the beginning that they were going to go out and spend millions and they never did that.

“They brought in proven players that know what the league is all about and then had a little sprinkle of that maverick, the likes of Tonali that are going to be that X factor.

“I think they are on the right track and pushing in the right direction and of course they will pick up even though it has been a rocky start.”

Newcastle return to league action against Brentford on Saturday (16 September) before their Champions League campaign gets underway against AC Milan in Italy next week (19 September).

In other news, Kieran Maguire reveals what Newcastle United really think about Saudi teams in Champions League.