Ruthless Alan Shearer call sums up Eddie Howe's £52m Newcastle United dilemma

Despite a summer of transfer struggles and subsequent concerns over squad depth and competition on Tyneside, Eddie Howe is now facing a real headache over his best Newcastle United XI going forward.

The prime example of these tough decisions comes from Sandro Tonali, the Magpies' most expensive midfield signing at £52m, enjoying arguably his best game in black and white on Wednesday, being dropped out the team come Saturday and calls emerging for him to remain out of Howe's starting XI going forward come the start of this week.

“It [Newcastle's infamous energy] was nearly there on Wednesday [vs Chelsea] and they carried that into the game against Arsenal and the balance looked spot on. I'd stick with that if everyone is fit, definitely," Newcastle legend Alan Shearer told the Rest is Football podcast in recent days.

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It is anyone's guess who Howe opts for against Nottingham Forest this weekend as five or six options jostle for just three midfield spots at the City Ground. That just happens to be how the Newcastle chief wants it to be as he relishes the competition for places in his squad.

Tonali has predominantly played as a right-sided central midfielder since returning from his 10-month suspension, with Bruno Guimaraes playing as the most central and deep option in that area of the pitch. However, the Italian was moved into that particular role against Chelsea and excelled, continuing his fine form of recent weeks.

It would feel unfair for Tonali to again be left out this weekend but Shearer is right by saying Newcastle's midfield in the win over Arsenal looked perfectly balanced. Sean Longstaff impressed on the right, while the combination of Joe Willock and Joelinton worked flawlessly on the left.

Howe has called for patience when it comes to Tonali, who continues to find his feet in the Premier League after a disrupted start to life in England. However, prolonged periods on the sidelines will do nothing to quiet the noises coming from Italy over a return to the San Siro.

Fans, pundits and the Italian media continue to talk up the prospect of AC Milan making a shock play for their former midfield maestro, despite Newcastle playing down such speculation.

Paulo Fonseca's team need a creative midfielder in the near future and have considered a Tonali bid, reported Fichajes last month, with Milan Live published similar talk days later. Over the summer, CalcioMercato suggested a deal could be done to send Tonali back to Italy, with defender Fikayo Tomori heading to Newcastle.

Former AC Milan midfielder Massimo Ambrosini recently encouraged his old club to make the dream a reality. In a chat with Radio Serie A, he said: "If Milan could bring home one of [Gigio] Donnarumma, Tonali, [Franck] Kessie or [Hakan] Calhanoglu? From the heart, I say Tonali.”

Newcastle are in no hurry to offload Tonali, who is beginning to truly his find feet in the Premier League. The question that will need answered in the short-term, however, is how does Howe fit him into his packed midfield for a consistent period?

“All options are open. Sandro [Tonali] can definitely play both positions, whether it be higher or lower, and that’s why we recruited him in a way, because he had that versatility,” Howe said after the win over Chelsea last week.

“With Sandro, it all depends on the game. Sometimes, your central player can be more involved. Other times, your higher players are more involved. He showed a really high level of tactical ability and understanding of that role, considering he hasn’t played it in a while. He can play both very well. I would not want to label him in any one role, and we need players who are adaptable.”