Brescia president Massimo Cellino has conceded that he is not enjoying the fact that Inter and Liverpool midfield target Sandro Tonali is facing big pressure at an early age.
The 18-year-old midfielder is considered a future star in Italy and has already broken into the national squad on the back of his performances in the second tier of Italian football.
All the big wigs in Italy – Inter, Juventus, Roma and AC Milan – are queuing up to sign the youngster from Brescia ahead of the summer transfer window.
The youngster has also been attracting interest from Liverpool and Chelsea in England and Cellino insisted that he is keen to protect Tonali from the spotlight at the moment.
The Brescia president, who has already revealed Liverpool contacted him directly about Tonali, feels that he has to protect his young talent because the pressure is now immense.
Cellino told Italian daily Gazzetta dello Sport: “I have to protect him.
“He is good but there is already so much pressure on him and in recent times I am not enjoying it.
“He doesn’t need to feel content but always try to improve.”
Cellino is likely to ask for a fee of around €50m for the midfielder in the summer and Tonali has already been dubbed the new Andrea Pirlo.
