Pochettino fuming as former Chelsea star chooses Newcastle over Stamford Bridge return, with Magpies now frontrunners.
Mauricio Pochettino has been left disappointed after a former Chelsea ace opted against a return to West London, instead putting his faith in a transfer to Newcastle United.
Chelsea have let several of their academy graduates leave in recent years due to the fierce competition for places at Stamford Bridge. Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori have both gone to Italy, joining Roma and AC Milan respectively.
Marc Guehi left Chelsea in July 2021 by signing for Crystal Palace in an £18million deal, while Tino Livramento swapped Chelsea U23s for Southampton a month after Guehi’s departure. As per The Guardian, Southampton paid £5m for the right-back, while Chelsea have a £25m buy-back option.
A lot of young players who leave Chelsea tend to do well at their next club as they are given more first-team opportunities and also feel more settled away from the constant loan cycle.
Livramento fits into that category. He enjoyed a brilliant debut season with Southampton in 2021-22 and went on to make 32 appearances, with 28 of those coming in the Premier League. Sadly for the 20-year-old, he ruptured his ACL in April 2022 and did not return to action until May of this year, which meant he missed nearly an entire season.
Despite the injury, Livramento’s stock remains high as in his first senior campaign he demonstrated what he is capable of. He has electric pace and is brilliant at getting down the wing to help with attacks.
The England U21 international could soon achieve a big move away from Southampton as a result of their relegation to the Championship. On June 27, The Telegraph revealed Newcastle were progressing in their talks to sign him.
The Athletic then cast doubt on a Newcastle move by revealing Eddie Howe’s team had offered £23m for him, whereas Southampton were hoping to receive £50m.
Tino Livramento makes Chelsea decision
The problem with the discussions saw Chelsea plan a move of their own for Livramento in a major U-turn. However, according to the latest information from the Daily Mail, the full-back would rather sign for Newcastle than go back to Chelsea.
Livramento does not think he would play regularly under Pochettino, despite the manager pushing for Chelsea to re-sign him. This is because Livramento would have to compete with Reece James and Malo Gusto for a starting place.
The starlet is worried he would end up being loaned out by Chelsea again, potentially back to Southampton. This move does not interest him as he wants to be playing regularly in the top flight.
As such, Livramento has now told Southampton that he is hoping to join Newcastle, in a move which will leave Pochettino angry.
Livramento’s future now depends on whether Newcastle can reach a compromise with the Saints. Newcastle’s wealthy owners means they have the funds to match Southampton’s £50m asking price, but they do not want to overpay for players if they can help it.
They will be hoping to drive Southampton’s price tag down to potentially between £30-40m. It must be noted that Southampton value Livramento at around £30m, but they are demanding more as Chelsea have a sell-on clause which means they will receive part of the fee.
Meanwhile, Pochettino and Chelsea have been tipped to brutally end a player’s contract early, despite previously being offered £70m for him.