Newcastle show there's plenty of life after Tonali

Anthony Elanga and Yoane Wissa joined Newcastle United for £55m each from Nottingham Forest and Brentford last summer

Anthony Elanga celebrates with Yoane Wissa after his goal for Newcastle United against Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on 29 August, 2026

Sandro Tonali anticipated being "more nervous" than usual about coming up against former club Newcastle United for the first time.

You suspect the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder felt a little sick following their 2-0 defeat on Saturday evening.

"Sandro, what's the score?" the away fans taunted in the closing stages as the substituted Italian looked on.

This bruising loss was certainly not the reunion Tonali had in mind after joining Spurs for a fee worth up to £100m last month.

It is still very early days, of course, but Newcastle appear to have reinvested the money wisely after spending a similar combined amount on midfielder Nico Gonzalez, defender Amar Dedic and goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek.

A number of the players head coach Matthias Jaissle inherited, such as goalscorers Anthony Elanga and Yoane Wissa, also look reborn.

Yet he was rightly not getting carried away following his first Premier League win.

"We have our own goals and we are clear with that," Jaissle said. "We are also realistic. Now you write everything is top, everything is great.

"We don't follow that too much. We are emotionally very stable and don't see the highs higher than it is now.

"It is a moment to enjoy as well after that start, but we are also smart enough to see a long journey ahead of us and there will be challenges as well."

Jaissle, by his own admission, "likes challenges" and this was certainly a big one to take on.

It is exactly 30 days since predecessor Eddie Howe oversaw what proved to be his final match in charge, a sobering 4-1 friendly defeat against Bristol City, before stepping down.

Newcastle had sold Tonali. Anthony Gordon had left for Barcelona. Captain Bruno Guimaraes' sights were set on a move to Arsenal.

Newcastle have made further additions since then, but only one of their seven summer signings, Gonzalez, has previously played in the Premier League.

Yet you would not necessarily know it by the immediate impact full-back Dedic has made following his £30m move from Benfica, or how Hornicek has stood up to the physicality of the Premier League since his £25.7m switch from Braga.

It could easily be forgotten, given what happened after the break at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but Hornicek was among those to play an important role in this win after making three saves at crucial moments in the first half.