Transfers, 2023-24 season

[Gemmill 35104]

Can't Livramento play both sides? I'm sure if that's right, he's our new left back.

[PaddockLad 14771]

Southampton season ticket holders can’t really help here

 

[The Fish 9086]

Quote

Newcastle United target Tino Livramento has long been destined for the top

By Jacob Tanswell

Jun 26, 2023

45

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This article was first published in December 2022 but has been republished after he was the subject of a bid from Newcastle United

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Where Tino Livramento grew up is certainly different to where he lives now.

The suburban din of south London has been exchanged for the serenity of Ocean Village; a high-end, yacht-filled marina on the River Itchen and traditionally home to many of Southampton’s players, board members and managers.

Ralph Hasenhuttl had an apartment in the same tower block where Livramento resides and would occasionally run into him. Their car parking spaces were alongside each other, so Hasenhuttl, as he enjoyed pointing out, would know whether Livramento was at home or not.

But it is not like the 20-year-old is a tearaway, anyway.

At Staplewood, staff have marvelled at Livramento’s dedication in returning from the long-term anterior cruciate ligament knee injury he sustained in April 2022. He worked in the gym throughout the summer and made his return to the grass near the start of autumn. He began training on the next pitch to the first team, completing running and sprinting drills without a ball but using plenty of cones.

His Premier League return would finally come in May and it was enough to make him a player of interest in this summer’s transfer market.

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That level of dedication originated in the London Burrough of Sutton, where Livramento was raised by his Scottish mother Caroline and Portuguese father Louis, who played a key role in helping him decide on joining Southampton last year.

It is early December and the World Cup remains the only thing entrenched in footballing minds. But The Athletic is in a snowy south London, on the playing fields alongside the Roundshaw estate. It is where Valentino, as his closest family still call him, started out.

 

The playing fields where Livramento played as a youngster

Roundshaw United, his first junior side, are now defunct but beyond the estate and what used to be the clubhouse lie the same playing fields. Those fields are precisely 2.34 kilometres long and would welcome hundreds of players and many junior teams each week.

There is a solitary building facing out towards the fields, with multiple changing rooms inside. Above the entrance is a banner saying “home to Sutton Common Rovers”, who play in the Isthmian South Central Division but they will soon be moving to Whyteleafe Sports Centre, a 3G playing surface. And as we cast our gaze across the blanket of snow enveloping the pitches as far as the eye can see, it makes perfect sense.

The Roundshaw playing fields go backwards and venture slightly uphill, with at least three full-sized pitches on every bank. A line of trees separates each incline and to the right is the Roundshaw estate, where the only person The Athletic comes into contact with is walking their dog. It used to be filled with life and noise on the weekends.

Livramento played here until under-9s level, both for Roundshaw and then Epsom Eagles for a year. Incidentally, at the latter, he was coached by former Manchester City and Wales defender Ben Thatcher. There, he played at centre-back before being swiftly moved forward to end the season as his side’s top scorer. It was during that time he was spotted and scouted by Chelsea, who invited him for a trial.

There, with his crossing and powerful running standing out, it made sense to mould him into a full-back.

As he settled into life at Cobham, which included having two days off school per week to train, Livramento’s talents soon took him to the international stage, playing for England schoolboys. Livramento would later captain England’s under-18s against Brazil, saying it was his proudest moment in football to date.

Southampton had known about Livramento for a long time. So much so that in most games Chelsea played against them, they would keep a close eye on him. Observers noted how Livramento, for such a young man, would always want to be involved in the most difficult situations on the pitch, whether that be receiving under pressure or dragging his team through adversity.

Even from right-back, Chelsea would look to him to get them back into games. They knew Livramento, forged by his days on Roundshaw, would always be willing to stand up and be counted. His ability to drive forward with and without the ball was his most distinctive attribute, routinely getting to the byline and hitting crosses that were consistently accurate. As you would expect for a player his age, there was an acceptance his defending needed work, but no challenge ever seemed to faze him.

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Born in November 2002, Livramento was raised by his parents, along with his older brother and sister, Louis and Paloma. The family home was a little over a mile away from those grassy, often muddied, pitches.

Half a mile down the road from Roundshaw is Wallington, home to Livramento. Wallington is a suburban town, with a busy main road steering through the quieter, leafy cul-de-sacs. On a good day, it is less than a five-minute drive to the playing fields.

 

Livramento was raised in Wallington

His first secondary school, Woodcote High, was just over two miles away, located in Coulsdon, Croydon — roughly a 15-minute journey by bus.

“He was absolutely lovely when he was here,” Jayne Liddemore, who was Livramento’s head of year eight and nine tells The Athletic. “He was a bright, intelligent young man who I kept trying to persuade to do A-levels but he wasn’t interested. I told him he should be going to university — he’s that bright. But he only ever wanted to play football. He was always absolutely charming. He had a fantastic sense of humour.”

It was here that Livramento would secretly play for Woodcote’s football team, unbeknown to Chelsea.

“He was good at everything,” says Liddemore. “He didn’t have to try too hard to do well. He knew where his future was going. He didn’t necessarily see the value in education at times and could be a little bit laid back about it. He could be a bit chatty but was very rarely in trouble. I remember how all the girls would swoon over him!”

“You could say that!” laughs AFC Wimbledon attacker Nathan Young-Coombes, when The Athletic asks if Livramento was, indeed, a hit with the ladies. “I’ve known Tino since we were four. We went to the same nursery. We played for Chelsea together when we were seven before going to the same high school, where we were in each other’s classes. I then lived with Tino for another two years — we’ve been best friends forever near enough. I’ve spent more time with Tino than I have with my family.”

Sister Paloma was at the same school and was regarded as the louder of the Livramento siblings.

“Tino keeps to himself,” says Young-Coombes. “He’s a lovable guy. I’ll doubt you’ll come across anybody that says a bad word about Tino. He’s such a nice guy. He’s probably one of the guys that you want to be around just to make yourself better.”

 

Livramento attended Woodcote until the end of year nine

As was customary with Chelsea’s promising youth talent, Livramento moved to Glyn School in year 10, which coincided with him being integrated into the club’s full-time footballing programme. Even though Livramento had kept up with his studies at Woodcote, Chelsea and Glyn share close ties. Glyn provided the club’s scholars with a full-time education programme. This consisted of seven full-time teachers working with the players for 20 hours a week at the academy.

Livramento and his team-mates were taught every GCSE subject, including all the core subjects as well as business, history, French or Spanish and religious studies. The switch in education, consequently, enabled Chelsea to dictate his schedule to a greater extent.

“His memory was almost photographic,” says Simon Knight, Livramento’s former PE teacher at Glyn. “His recall was phenomenal. He would come across as quite shy, but he would be taking everything in. His confidence certainly grew in the two years we had him.”

“I was so upset when he had to leave,” says Liddemore. “We did everything we could to persuade him to stay in education but he was absolutely set. And Chelsea were absolutely clear he was going to make it. I had a couple of meetings with them and they told me he was going to go all the way.”

 

Livramento in action for Chelsea at youth level (Photo: Alex Burstow/Getty Images)

Despite leaving Woodcote, Livramento would return once a year to see his old teachers and friends.

“He was just so down to earth,” smiles Liddemore. “I always used to get Christmas presents from him, like little boxes of chocolate. On one occasion, he got me a Chelsea shirt that he signed and addressed to me. I’ve still got that now. He used to be quite embarrassed when he gave me those presents because I think his parents used to make him bring them in. He’d walk into my office and shove it at me and walk out before I could say anything — he would be blushing furiously.”

“He was in a very strong year group,” Knight says. “He was in the same class as the likes of Levi Colwill, Lewis Bate, Ben Elliott and Jamal Musiala. They went on to win pretty much everything that year.”

 

The football pitches at Glyn School

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After spending the final two years completing his GCSEs (let’s just say he did not like Spanish), there became an inevitability Livramento would make it as a footballer. But competition at Chelsea is fierce and there was not a clear pathway into the first team, so a move away became an option for a player who wanted game time.

Southampton were keen, given their knowledge of the player spanned several years and extensive scouting, but there was growing trepidation at the possibility of Livramento slipping through their fingers.

There was understandable frustration towards the end of the 2020-21 campaign when it emerged Brighton were favourites to sign him. Everton, prior to Rafa Benitez’s arrival as manager, were also confident of agreeing a deal for the full-back after their recruitment team thought they had done the appropriate groundwork.

Southampton, meanwhile, were led by chief executive Martin Semmens and had been in dialogue with Chelsea’s director Marina Granovskaia since March 2021. Staff inside Staplewood were under no doubt that, if Livramento were to sign, he would be able to hit the ground running in the Premier League, such was their total faith in him.

And as far as they, Brighton and other interested parties were concerned, it was increasingly clear the teenager could make the step into first-team football and flourish.

“I remember one time we played against a team that we were beating quite heavily,” recalls Young-Coombes. “They were putting in bad challenges all over the pitch and everyone was getting irate. Tino got kicked about a thousand times. But he just kept on picking himself back up and nothing fazed him. He then got the ball, dribbled past all of their team and scored. He acted as if what he had just done was normal.”

After winning Chelsea’s academy player of the year at the end of that season and an agreement with Brighton falling through, Southampton became the frontrunners again and eventually managed to seal a £5million ($6.17m) deal in August, with the club only required to start paying back the fee during the summer just gone. Chelsea were hesitant to let him go and inserted a £50m ($61.74m) buy-back clause that kicks in next year. That figure is caveated by Chelsea having also installed a sell-on clause, meaning the actual buy-back price would be in the region of £38m ($46.92).

Now there is great satisfaction at Southampton that they were able to sign Livramento when he was 18. His performances prior to injury were remarkable and served as the catalyst for the club’s resurgence in reputation for nurturing young players, both within the academy and buying externally.

Players since, such as Romeo Lavia from Manchester City, have followed a similar path in coming to the south coast and playing regularly in the Premier League. Livramento is Southampton’s prototype; his acquisition has encouraged other talented players to move from bigger clubs.

Significantly, the actual framework of Southampton’s deal to sign Livramento has continued to draw envy from higher-ranked Premier League sides, who have been surprised at how they managed to finalise those favourable terms. They have made their admiration known privately.

For Livramento, the focus now is on playing where his feet are — both at Southampton and firmly on the ground. His roots remain in south London, near the family home, and despite the additional trappings of popularity, he keeps the same circle of friends and is in touch with schoolmates on social media.

“He’s ahead of schedule and the knee has been feeling good,” says Young-Coombes. “He’s never fazed by anything. He could play week in week out in the Prem, have the best performance of his life and yet, tomorrow, come to my house to watch football or play golf.  As a professional footballer that’s the epitome of what you need from a mentality standpoint.”

“Some players think they’ve made it to the top and they’ve done everything,” team-mate Che Adams tells The Athletic. “But, in reality, they’ve done nothing. The young players (like Tino) who have come here want to push on because they’re at Southampton to better their careers and make the most out of it. He takes everything on board and wants to get better.”

 

[Dr Gloom 19935]

Tldr - is he a left back?

 

If so, feels like we’re a RCB and a RW away from it. Ring a v good window

[Gemmill 35104]

LB or RB, it sounds like he passes the No Dickheads rule with flying colours.

[RobinRobin 9326]

10 minutes ago, Gemmill said:

LB or RB, it sounds like he passes the No Dickheads rule with flying colours.

Most people on this board meet that criteria but I don't want them playing RB or LB.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, perhaps one or two.

[wykikitoon 16902]

1 hour ago, PaddockLad said:

Southampton season ticket holders can’t really help here

 

WTF!!!

Livramento is bigger than NUFC?!?!

ARE YOU TAKING THE PISS?

[Polarboy 2124]

1 hour ago, Dr Gloom said:

we must be going for chiesa 

 

A loan to buy would be deal of the summer, but I can't see it. I'll gladly be wrong though. 

[ThatGinolaVolley 80]

Can he cross with his left foot? If not, poor choice for LB imo.

 

Trippier is a world class RB. He’s played LB for England a few times, and looked shit - constantly getting in great positions on the overlap, but then has to check back on his right foot and the moment is gone.

[Kid Dynamite 6010]

59 minutes ago, ThatGinolaVolley said:

 constantly getting in great positions on the overlap, but then has to check back on his right foot and the moment is gone.

I've got bad news for you about Harvey Barnes...

[OTF 6274]

16 hours ago, Polarboy said:

 

We play them first game of the season. It's going to happen, he'll likely score, so we may as well prepare for it 😂

 

When you think about it Eddie would not have been interested in him because there's a defensive expectation for our wide players that Diaby doesn't meet. Chiesa on the other hard is quite hardworking defensively, presses and makes tackles. Of the two he fits Eddie's style much better than the Frenchman. Still, I'd be quite surprised if we go for him but would be keen to see how he does. It can't hurt that we've now got Tonali.

Edited July 21, 2023 by OTF

[LongTimeAdmirer 936]

5 minutes ago, OTF said:

 

When you think about it Eddie would not have been interested in him because there's a defensive expectation for our wide players that Diaby doesn't meet. Chiesa on the other hard is quite hardworking defensively, presses and makes tackles. Of the two he fits Eddie's style much better than the Frenchman. Still, I'd be quite surprised if we go for him but would be keen to see how he does. It can't hurt that we've now got Tonali.

 

Harvey Barnes is the opposite of that, not sure how beholden Eddie is to that mantra based on that signing. Something else must have turned him off. 

[OTF 6274]

8 minutes ago, LongTimeAdmirer said:

 

Harvey Barnes is the opposite of that, not sure how beholden Eddie is to that mantra based on that signing. Something else must have turned him off. 

 

I wouldn't say he's the opposite of it, but you're right that Barnes is not known for his defensive effort. I'm only guessing but feel like Eddie will feel that he can use his energy to press and over time improve his defensive reads and tackling. Similar to the intentions with Gordon. They'll be eased into the team and/or used as subs until they fully fit the style of play.

 

The alternate view is also that Howe will look to evolve the way we play to cater for teams sitting deeper against us. Barnes, noted for his quick interchanges can work both in the open field and also against a deep lying defense.

[ThatGinolaVolley 80]

59 minutes ago, Kid Dynamite said:

I've got bad news for you about Harvey Barnes...

At least Miggy will make them feel at home.

[PaddockLad 14771]

Reading lots about Lewis Hall from Chelsea as our left back…loan with commitment to buy makes a lot more sense than £30 million+ for Tierney?
 

edit: he’s got the same management as Howe, Livramento and Barnes apparently…. hes also done the old “started following Newcastle players on Insta” routine..

 

 

🤔

Edited July 21, 2023 by PaddockLad

[strawb 3686]

He’s a centre midfielder, who has covered at left back. Decent young player though

[Polarboy 2124]

26 minutes ago, PaddockLad said:

Reading lots about Lewis Hall from Chelsea as our left back…loan with commitment to buy makes a lot more sense than £30 million+ for Tierney? 🤔

 

I seen that as well, but surely Chelsea and Poch would need to be mad to let such a promising young player leave. Especially under such attractive terms as loan to buy to a rival. I could see Hall perhaps going out on a normal loan given he'll probably be behind Chilwell and Cucurella in the pecking order, but given Chilwell's injury record I'd be very tempted to keep him just in case if I were Chelsea. He'd be an incredible signing though, from what little I've seen of him. His crossing ability is elite for such a young kid. 

 

19 minutes ago, strawb said:

He’s a centre midfielder, who has covered at left back. Decent young player though

 

He's played almost the equal amount of games on that left hand side as he has in midfield in his obviously brief career so far. At 18 I don't think it makes much sense to say he definitely plays anywhere. The question is can he play LB at a high level, and from what admittedly little we've seen of him, the answer to that is yes. If he has the versatility to also play further up the wing and centrally all the better. Livramento also has that flexibility. The two of them could be our full backs for more than a decade if we could sign them, with Livramento obviously already looking pretty much done. But again I'd be shocked if Chelsea were willing to let him go. If they did it would likely have to be for a ridiculous fee. I mean unless I'm missing something with regard to Chelsea still needing to balance the books or whatever, but PIF seem to have already helped them with that. Saying that perhaps the relationship between us and Chelsea could allow for something unpredictable to happen. 

Edited July 21, 2023 by Polarboy

[wykikitoon 16902]

One of the few players at the latter end of the season how seemed to give a shit and have a go for Chelsea. Played quite well against us at LB 

[Polarboy 2124]

Just read that Maatsen, the young Dutch LB that Chelsea have, had a decent game at LB for Chelsea in their last preseason game. He scored twice, admittedly only against Wrexham, but if Chelsea literally have four players who could potentially play one position, you'd imagine at least one of them will be getting loaned or sold. 

[MrBass 2283]

4 minutes ago, Polarboy said:

Just read that Maatsen, the young Dutch LB that Chelsea have, had a decent game at LB for Chelsea in their last preseason game. He scored twice, admittedly only against Wrexham, but if Chelsea literally have four players who could potentially play one position, you'd imagine at least one of them will be getting loaned or sold. 

[wykikitoon 16902]

Sounds like liveramento done 

[Ayatollah Hermione 12825]

Should put him and Barnes next to each other on the same flight out to the US. They’ll either become best friends or detest each other. Either way, it’ll make for great squad building 

[Toonpack 6957]

Hi Chelsea, PIF here, you know all those players we bought from you for our league and bailed you out, well here's the thing, we think young Lewis should go to Newcastle, nudge nudge, wink wink.

[OTF 6274]

2 hours ago, Ayatollah Hermione said:

Should put him and Barnes next to each other on the same flight out to the US. They’ll either become best friends or detest each other. Either way, it’ll make for great squad building 

 

Why not both? Planes, Trains and Automobiles style.

 

[Alex 30654]

I think they might view this livra, err, Tino kid as Trippier’s long term replacement. I could still see us signing a left back for the starting XI. It might depend on ASM, Lewis and one of Krafth or Manquillo going to see another LB come in I suppose. But the CL football and the extra games that comes with that means, seeing as he can supposedly cover both fullback positions, he’ll see loads of game time anyway even if he’s not first choice straight away on either side of the pitch. I’m canny chilled whatever as everything so far suggests there’s a short, medium and long term plan in place and they know exactly what the fuck they’re doing behind the scenes