Sandro Tonali has declared that he 'loves' playing for Newcastle United and the club's 'amazing' fans.

A report in Italy bizarrely claimed Tonali was 'tired of this situation' and merely 'passing through' at Newcastle, which was rubbished by the player's camp last month. It was just last week that another outlet in Tonali's homeland suggested the midfielder was not viewed as an 'essential' player at St James' Park, which, again, could not be further from the truth.

In fact, Tonali has started all of Newcastle's last eight league games and the Italy international has played a crucial role in the black-and-whites winning all but one of those matches following an inspired tweak in position. Eddie Howe has always maintained that he has only ever seen a player who is 'very happy' at Newcastle and Tonali said as much after scoring in his side's 3-1 win at Southampton on Saturday.

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"We are a lovely team," the 25-year-old told NUFC TV after being asked how much he was enjoying playing for the club. "I work for my team-mates and my team-mates work for me.

"This is fantastic because it's difficult to find this in one team, but we work together, we live together and we stay every day together in the training ground. We know last season was difficult for every player but now, after a great reaction, every player loves playing for Newcastle and playing for these amazing fans and this amazing team."

Howe hailed Tonali's 'outstanding' performance at St Mary's after the Italian 'ran that midfield' against the Saints.