Former AC Milan technical chief Paolo Maldini says he would've fought hard to stop Sandro Tonali leaving for Newcastle United.

Maldini initially signed Tonali for the Rossonero.

He told La Repubblica of the midfielder's summer sale: "We would have done everything possible not to let him walk away, even in the face of such an important offer.

"We have never been totally against the sale of one of our important players, but there wasn't even a real need."

Then he continued: "I like to remember that we spent an amount equal to about a fifth of the value of the transfer to the new owner to purchase him and that even in that case we had to discuss heatedly with the CEO (Ivan Gazidis) and ownership: none of them wanted to buy him, not even the scouting area."