Newcastle United are set to announce the signing of Tino Livramento from Southampton and ChronicleLive has taken a look at what the Magpies can expect from
the new arrival.
Tino Livramento can’t wait to get started at Newcastle United and the Magpies are excited to formally announce the arrival of a man who could one day succeed
Kieran Trippier for both club and country.
ChronicleLive understands ‘all the big teams’ like Livramento, who has had admirers at Liverpool, Spurs and Brighton over the years, and there’s a feeling
that Newcastle have ‘stolen a march’ on their rivals. After all, as sizable an investment as this is – the fee could rise to £35m – Newcastle may have justifiably felt that
Livramento could have been even more expensive in a year’s time or, worse still, unattainable at another club.
It is also not lost on anyone behind the scenes that Trippier, Newcastle’s most influential player, on and off the field, turns 33 in September. Providing serious
competition while easing the load on Trippier, who was the only individual to play in all of Newcastle’s league games last season, and finding a worthy heir is a
priority of sorts the more you think about it.
Yes, there has been a degree of opportunism to this move, like there was when Newcastle targeted Nick Pope and Harvey Barnes, who had also been relegated, but
persistent Newcastle also refused to give up after the black-and-whites had several bids turned down by Southampton earlier this summer. ChronicleLive
understands there was still ‘work to do’ to find a price both clubs were happy with as far back as June. Although discussions were ‘moving in the right direction’ a
month later, tellingly, a breakthrough was only reached in August to land a player who has been tracked by Eddie Howe, sporting director Dan Ashworth and head
of first-team technical scouting Andy Howe for several years.
It was a switch that would have been beyond Livramento’s wildest dreams when the 20-year-old suffered a serious knee injury in April, 2022 and a series of
subsequent setbacks. Yet Livramento showed remarkable mental strength to bounce back following a 392-day wait to play in the Premier League again at the very
stadium, the Amex, the injury happened. Few know about that better than Xavier Simons, who came through the ranks with Livramento at Chelsea and, also,
attended Glyn School with his friend. It goes without saying that the Hull City midfielder can’t wait to welcome Livramento up north.
“Tino deserves it fully for the hard times he’s had,” Simons told ChronicleLive. So what can Newcastle expect? “He is someone you can count on,” Simons added.
“Both defensively and offensively, he’s a beast. He has amazing pace and is amazing one v one defensively and going forward. He will produce goals for your team.”
Southampton were well-aware of those attributes, of course, when they signed Livramento in 2021. Livramento had been with Chelsea since the age of seven but,
rather than go out on loan, like so many academy graduates, the defender boldly decided to depart his boyhood club for good.
Livramento sets goals at the start of every year and the academy graduate recognised that he had hit a ceiling at Chelsea given how Reece James, who was just three
years older, was the club’s undisputed first-choice. The next step for Livramento was to test himself in the Premier League and the move to Southampton was a
gamble that paid off sooner than the Londoner could even have imagined. Livramento thought he would be in and around the Southampton squad initially – fellow
right-back Kyle Walker-Peters was one of the Saints’ best players the previous campaign – but the youngster took his chance and, tellingly, became a starter from the
get-go.
A man of the match display on his home debut against Manchester United caught the eye of onlookers across the country. In fact, one passage of play
went viral when Livramento picked up the ball deep in his own half from a Manchester United corner kick and raced past a flailing Fred down the
touchline before getting a cross away. All in the space of just a few seconds. It was a tantalising glimpse of the rapid Livramento in full-flight in the top-flight.
Kelvin Davis had a front row seat on the bench that afternoon yet, tellingly, that performance was not the former Southampton assistant coach’s
‘overriding memory’ from his time with Livramento. It was the pair’s ‘day-to-day’ interactions at the training ground.
“Tino is a very balanced, level-headed person,” the Southampton legend told ChronicleLive. “He’s a good guy who is very humble and wants to work hard
and play football.
“On top of that, he’s got fantastic ability, which has got him to the level that he’s at, but it’s his all-round personality that Newcastle are also getting. It’s
not just what he gives you on the pitch – it’s how he carries himself and his character within the group. He’s very humble. There are no dramas with him.
He’s a good character and team member who takes his football seriously and wants to progress.”
That is quite a reference. With that attitude, you can see why Livramento went on to become the first teenager to start each of his club’s first 18 Premier
League matches in a season since Micah Richards ‘burst onto the scene’ at Man City.
This is a player who has long relished the big occasion, whether it was making his UEFA Youth League debut in his mid-teens or stepping up in FA Youth
Cup ties in any position down the right-hand side for Chelsea. That mentality helped Livramento make a swift transition from youth team player to
reserve team player and then, ultimately, to a Premier League regular.
No wonder Ed Brand, who coached Livramento between the ages of 15 to 19 at Chelsea, described the youngster as a ‘pleasure to work with’.
“Tino does not get too high in the good moments or too low in difficult moments, and that is a good trait to have,” he told ChronicleLive. “In
terms of his application, there was never an issue in terms of how he trained day-to-day and how he went about his business.
“He always did things properly. He trained hard and wanted to improve. It’s no surprise he’s done so well. Just by knowing the kid, he was
determined to be the best he could be.”
Newcastle are about to see that first-hand.
TRANSFER WINDOW SPECIAL: GET YOUR TICKETS
The award-winning Newcastle United show – The Everything is Black and White Podcast will be once again coming to you live!
On Wednesday, August 30th, our panel will be at the Tyneside Irish Centre to talk all things Newcastle United.
We’re excited to welcome The Times’ Henry Winter to the panel alongside BBC Radio Newcastle’s Matthew Raisbeck, and our usual panel of
Lee Ryder, Ciaran Kelly and Aaron Stokes.
It’s the perfect time to chat about United with the Champions League draw taking place a day later and the transfer window closing on the 1st
of September.
The Premier League season will be well under way too – so hopefully we’re talking about an unbeaten start to the campaign!
Leave a Reply