£100m Tottenham star Sandro Tonali caught in 'downed tools' row as four players singled out

Sandro Tonali has found himself the target of criticism from some sections of the Tottenham Hotspur fanbase following his £100m move from Newcastle United. Robert De Zerbi's side have had a torrid start to the Premier League season and find themselves bottom of the table with just two points from their opening five league games. Spurs spent in excess of £300million during the summer window, alongside securing two notable loan additions, expectations were considerable in north London that progress would follow back-to-back 17th-place Premier League finishes. Tonali's displays have been inconsistent and questions have arisen over whether the substantial £100million investment to secure his services has been entirely worthwhile. The Italian international's strengths centre more around defensive midfield duties, rather than creative responsibilities. However, when committing such significant funds, there exists a natural expectation of goals and assists. The 26-year-old has registered neither this season - posting an XG of 0.24 and XA of 0.61. With Spurs failing to find the net until the closing stages of their fifth league fixture of the campaign, it has proven a difficult reality for the fanbase to accept. Former Spurs and Newcastle legend Chris Waddle believes Tonali and Tottenham's other central midfielders are 'too similar', arguing the side requires a Paul Gascoigne-type player rather than additional deep-lying defensive midfielders. FOLLOW OUR TOTTENHAM FB PAGE! Latest Spurs news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page "Spurs is a big club to play for," he said. "There's always pressure, there's always scrutiny. They are one of the Big Six. We've seen a lot of players who are really good players, by the way. "But the one thing lacking is a No 9 and a No 10 in a way, even though [Omar] Marmoush is going in there. James Maddison, I don't know if he can last 90 minutes, he doesn't seem to play a lot of minutes. "They're missing that player for me, a good No 10. The wingers are good but in midfield they've got Tonali, [Rodrigo] Bentancur, [Lucas] Bergvall, Archie Gray, I think they're all very similar. You need different types of players. You definitely need a talent like Dele Alli and going back to Gazza, Glenn Hoddle. "They've always had a No 10, a talisman who can make goals and score goals, they haven't got that at the minute. They've got a lot of good players, but the midfielders are very similar." There have been accusations about a perceived lack of commitment, not only from Tonali but across the entire squad. However, they're similar accusations to ones that were were levelled at Tonali during his final campaign at Newcastle, when he appeared devoid of energy or determination, particularly when the club needed him to set the standard. Waddle, however, insists the players haven't 'downed tools' and remain committed to playing for De Zerbi. "It's hard when new players haven't hit the ground running, a lot of players haven't," he told Betpack. "Getting the balance right is key, because they've signed loads of players, but you've got to get the balance right. "The players are listening, the players understand how big Tottenham are and what's required. It's not a lack of effort, it's probably a lack of confidence rather than effort, because they're working hard. "You can't say they've downed tools, they actually are working very hard. But it's putting that ball in the net, and eventually you can see the frustration in them because they think, 'Yeah, we might have a lot of possession, we create some good chances, but we don't take them.'"