Newcastle United are set to sign Southampton full back Tino Livramento for a reported £40 million deal. The former Chelsea youngster will be the Magpies’ third major signing of the transfer window. AC Milan midfielder Sandro Tonali joined for £55 million while £39 million was spent to lure Harvey Barnes from relegated Leicester City.
Livramento is a signing that makes sense for Newcastle as they prepare to embark on their first taste of the Champions League group stage since the 2002/03 season. The 20-year-old is an upgrade on Javier Manquillo, Kieran Trippier’s current understudy. He is also a promising player with a tremendous upside to his game. Newcastle have spent big, but it is on a player with a future.
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However, signing the England under-21 international also represents a huge risk. It is perhaps an indictment of Newcastle’s riches that the club had to part with such a fee for a player with just 30 Premier League games under his belt. Towards the end of his first season at Saints, where Livramento had impressed, a cruciate ligament rupture put him out of action. The defender only re-emerged in time to play two games last season as his club were relegated.
This is the reality for Newcastle now. While the club and its fans are proud of their approach to signings, having not opted to load up with superstars, it doesn’t mean they’re shopping for bargains. £40 million is a huge outlay for a player from a relegated side who has played twice in 12 months. The Magpies might not be shopping for the likes of Neymar and Kylan Mbappe, but they’re being made to spend big by selling clubs.
If Livramento is close to the player he was in 2021/22, this could be an inspired signing from Eddie Howe. The fact Trippier remains one of the Premier League’s best right backs, and a talismanic figure at St James’ Park, means the pressure will be off for Livramento. At 20, he is likely being viewed as Trippier’s successor. The England international is 32 and while he remains close to the peak of his powers, over the next couple of seasons there will come a time he needs to be replaced.
Newcastle have shown a nice line in clever squad planning by getting that likely replacement through the door ahead of time. While it is a costly gamble considering Livramento’s recent struggles, it will be worth every penny if this succession plan works out. Newcastle are spending with both hands, of that there is no doubt. But Howe and his recruitment team do clearly have a well thought out and measured strategy while doing so.
Livramento gives Newcastle an attacking dimension to their full back play. Able to stretch the play on the right and adept enough going forward to sometimes play on the wing, he lessens the burden on Trippier. Chelsea actually wanted the youngster to stay before he departed for the south coast. That tells you the esteem his cultured play is held in. Like many modern Chelsea youth players, Livramento backed himself and decided to go to a club where he would be a starter rather than join the loan carousel at Stamford Bridge.
That determination will be needed at St James’ Park. The standards at Newcastle are higher than they have been for a long time. Ahead of Livramento sits a player who represents the new era at the club more completely than any other. It could be a make or break season for the new signing. Three years on from leaving a Champions League club to find his fortune, Livramento is back at the top table.
