Newcastle are reportedly ‘closing in’ on a deal to bring Southampton star Tino Livramento to St James’ Park this summer.
Livramento missed over a year of Premier League action after a cruciate ligament injury in April 2022, only returning to action right at the end of the 2022/23 season.
But the England U21 caught the eye in his debut campaign for the Saints having moved from Chelsea for just £5m in the summer of 2021.
Hugely impressive both when defending and attacking, there were suggestions at the time that Chelsea may have made a mistake in letting Livramento go, but the right-back pushed for an exit from Stamford Bridge with his path to the first team blocked by Reece James.
It may seem like an odd move for Newcastle given the stellar form of Kieran Trippier last season, but The Telegraph claim manager Eddie Howe ‘believes Livramento has the versatility to become a key addition at Newcastle’, who have the Champions League to contend with next season.
The report adds that Howe ‘also admires’ fellow Southampton star James Ward-Prowse as the Magpies ‘keep a close eye on players at other relegated clubs in the hope they could land another bargain’.
It’s claimed Newcastle are well short of Southampton’s valuation of Livramento as things stand – they want to pay around £15m for what the Saints believe to be a £30m player.
One possible way through the negotiation could be to send Ryan Fraser, who is free to leave the club this summer, in the opposite direction.
Kyle Walker-Peters and Armel Bella-Kotchap also ‘face uncertain futures’ at Southampton with new manager Russell Martin walking in to what could be quite the rebuild.
One star almost certain to leave is Romeo Lavia, who’s been linked with Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea, who failed with a deadline day bid of £50m last summer.
Fabrizio Romano revealed on Monday that the young Belgian is also on Liverpool’s shortlist.
He said: “Romeo Lavia is on the Arsenal list but, from what I understand, also Liverpool. Liverpool have opened talks to sign Romeo Lavia. So Liverpool have an interest in Lavia, Man United asking about the situation, Chelsea did the same a few weeks ago. So both clubs are informed but at the moment they are not that close or active on this deal because it also depends on the timing.
“But for Liverpool, Romeo Lavia is one of the players they are considering. We know about (Khephren] Thuram, we know about Manu Kone, especially Thuram in this moment for Liverpool is a concrete target but we also have to add Romeo Lavia to their list as he is one of the targets they appreciate.
“It is important to remind you about Romeo Lavia that this deal is going to be expensive. This is not going to be an easy deal. Terms and conditions of the deal and payment terms are going to be something crucial for Southampton as they want a really big fee. More than £40m for Romeo Lavia.”
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