Newcastle Agrees Fee for Tino Livramento
According to reports from The Athletic and others, Newcastle have agreed a fee of £35mil plus a further £5mil in add-ons for Southampton’s 20 year old right back Tino Livramento. Toon have been chasing the former Chelsea youngster all summer and now appear to have a deal in place to secure a player they had made a priority target as they look to build a team that can have long-term success.
Livramento will become their fourth summer signing, after talented teenage winger Yankuba Minteh, Italian international Sandro Tonali and former Leicester wideman Harvey Barnes and can, along with Tonali, Barnes, Alexander Isak, Sven Botman and Bruno Guimaraes form part of Toon’s long term vision.
Finding a Successor for Kieran Trippier
Kieran Trippier has been vital to Newcastle since his arrival in Eddie Howe’s first window in charge, but the England international turns 33 in September and can’t be viewed as a long-term fixture in the team. Finding a successor is important, and in Livramento Toon should have accomplished that.
This is a transfer that comes with a considerable risk though. Nobody would doubt Livramento’s talent or potential, but he is not long removed from a very serious injury that caused him to miss over a year of first team football.
A Considerable Risk
Having joined the Saints for Chelsea in the summer of 2021, the youngster quickly established himself as the first choice right-back, forcing Kyle Walker-Peters to shift across to left-back. Livramento was on an upward trajectory that might have seen him earn a big money from after only one season before disaster struck. On April 24th 2022, he suffered a torn ACL during a 2-2 draw with Brighton.
A devastating injury at any stage it is particularly tough for a young player who’s just beginning his journey in senior football. Livramento suffered a couple of set-backs and a muscular injury and did not feature again for Southampton until May 21st 2023 when he came off the bench for a 15 minute cameo, ironically enough against Brighton.
Livramento’s Versatility and Potential
Buying a player who has barely played in over a year, coming off a potentially career-altering injury, is a risk for Newcastle but in Tino Livramento they have adjudged it to be a risk worth taking and it’s tough to argue with their assertion.
Livramento thrives in attack but is no liability at the basic premise of his position either, having the pace and agility to lock down the best wingers in the Premier League. He’s versatile enough to also play left back when needed and has played as a winger during his youth so could be used further forward in an emergency. All things considered, this is a gamble worth taking.
Eddie Howe knows a lot about knee injuries, as his own career was ended by one. He knows a lot about rehab of the knee. I doubt he would take the risk on Tino if he didn’t think he could manage it
I doubt Eddie Howe has much say in that side of things.
Especially as nothing Eddie went through is relevant with the advances in medicine, surgery and recovery.