A couple of days ago the rumour mill was predicting that Tino Livramento was heading for Newcastle United, however after the Geordies declined to pay the going rate, a surprise candidate for his signature has come into the picture.

Newcastle United's problem is that they are worried that they might fall foul of the Financial Fair Play rules should they just splash the cash, with Manchester City now under close scrutiny by both UEFA & the Premier League for alleged financial irregularities, Newcastle are keen not to fall into the same trap.

That means that they have a transfer budget of £75 million, whether that is the net spend after transfers out of St James Park is unclear, but in the short term it means that they are either unwilling or unable to offer more than £15 million for Tino Livramento, although the latest reports claim they upped that to £21 million in a final attempt to get the deal done.

From a Southampton perspective that is far too low for two reasons, firstly the player is worth more than that and secondly with Chelsea taking a percentage of any transfer fee, £15 million would barely see Saints make a profit on Livramento's two year stay at St Mary's.

The starting price is said to be anywhere between £30-38 million depending on which article you believe, for a player who was signed for barely £5 million two years ago.

However according to the Daily Mail Livramento's former employers Chelsea are about to launch a bid for the right back and it is one that might well appeal to Southampton.

They claim that Chelsea are about to launch a bid to take Livramento back to Stamford Bridge in a deal that would also see the player loaned back to Saints for the coming season.

Given the sell on clause on any transfer fee, this could be a clean offer with Chelsea getting the player at a cheaper net price than anyone else due to their share of the fee as such meaning that they can negotiate with Saints on a cash on the table basis.

So if Southampton were to receive £20-25 k for the player on the nose plus his services for this season, it would represent good business.

Chelsea are already well served in the right back department, they have Reece James who is only 3 years older than Livramento and an England International and to cap that they have Malo Gusto whom they signed for 30 million euros back in January from Olympique Lyon before loaning him back until the end of the season.

Malo is 5 months younger than Livramento and from this perspective it seems strange that Chelsea would be willing to spend around £50 million plus in the space of 6 months, on two youngsters who won't get into their first team as it stands.

That suggests that Chelsea's interest is not as strong as is being made out, it could be the players agent trying to get the deal over the line with Newcastle and push the Geordies into upping their offer, or it could even be a journalist with Saints connections putting it out there to get a better deal for the club as a favour.

Chelsea's interest could be real though, they might want to get him back on the books now to stop their rivals getting their hands on him and certainly I would expect Livramento's value to increase over the next 12 months whether he is playing for Saints or anyone.

It is said that the player himself wants to play football and not just sit on the bench or not be in the squad, at Newcastle he has a better chance of getting into the first team, but not that much better !

Kieran Trippier would be the man in front of him for the right back spot, he has played virtually every game since his arrival in January 2022 and is also in the England set up, but he will turn 33 in September and is not getting any younger, from Livramento's perspective he would find it hard to oust Trippier in the coming season, so moving to Newcastle might not be as attractive as you may think.

So I would say a cash and loan back deal would suit Southampton, although not quite as much as the player staying a Southampton player for next season and we raking in a far higher transfer fee next summer.

Photo: Action Images

Monksway added 10:00 - Jul 4 Have you any idea how much SR need to raise from player sales this summer and how much needs to come off the wage bill? I would find it strange if they completely abandoned their much vaunted plan to buy young players to develop and sell on at a profit. I cant see any sense in selling Livramento for a small margin before the likes of KWP, JWP or Lavia who will turn a significant profit.

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dirk_doone added 10:22 - Jul 4 @Monksway. The club's debt, which was already well over £100 mill when SR took over, must have pased the £200 million mark by now after the money spent on players last season, and, of course, interest payments need to be paid on that. So, a lot of money needs to be raised. That probably means we'll be forced to sell players for whatever we can get at the end of the transfer window so the vultures are circling and waiting until then.

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Bowlercow added 10:31 - Jul 4 Chelsea with a loan back option. If it means we get him in a Saints shirt next season I am up for that If we can also keep KWP Alcaraz and Suleman that gives us a good foundation
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underweststand added 10:52 - Jul 4 Tino's value is as high as it's likely to be right now. ...40- 45- 50 million ? If he stays a season before returning to Chelsea, he might help us .. IF he stays injury-free. He is too good to spend too long in the Championship and his international chances won't improve in the short term. He needs to get Prem. game time under his belt now. Would be sad if he went, but in the circumstances we should sell now to the highest bidder.

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GRIM added 11:15 - Jul 4 I personally think there is too much hype about Livramento. He might be young & a good prospect for someone in the future, but he's a very long way from being the finished article. His form tailed off dramatically for us in his first season when the opposition sussed him out. Also he has to prove that his serious injury is behind him & not likely to flare up again. I think if we could get 30M for him now we should take it. Due to our outstanding debts, we're going to need every penny we can get from selling players & get a few cheap ones in a bit quick.

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