Newcastle to sign Tino Livramento using Allan Saint-Maximin sale profit

Tino Livramento, a 20-year-old right-back, is on the verge of finalizing a move to Newcastle United from relegated Southampton following reports emerging earlier this month.

The transfer is part of Southampton’s strategy to generate funds and build a promotion-worthy team after getting relegated from the English Premier League last season. The Championship side plans on using money from players who were always destined to leave after the Saints’ relegation in bolstering a squad capable of getting back up to the top-flight division.

Southampton’s financial struggles after relegation have made it challenging for them to retain their best players, and they are now close to selling Livramento to Newcastle for a fee of approximately £30m, according to The Guardian. The young right-back, who joined Southampton from Chelsea two years ago, has recovered from a knee injury that kept him sidelined for much of the last season and will come to Newcastle to bolster the wing-back position, both on the left and the right sides, and mainly as Kieran Trippier’s understudy.

During his debut season in the Premier League, Livramento’s progress was unfortunately halted by an ACL injury in a match against Brighton in April 2022. After a 13-month recovery period, he made his Premier League comeback in the final week of last season.

The addition of the England Under-21 star would provide cover and competition, strengthening Newcastle’s roster for their upcoming Champions League campaign. This transfer could also mark the end of Javier Manquillo’s tenure at Newcastle with the veteran Spaniard expected to leave the club through the summer in order to make room for Livramento and with little to no chances to crack gameday squads on a weekly basis.

As part of their upgrading efforts and to finance both this signing and the one involving Leicester City’s Harvey Barnes (quoted at £38m), Newcastle are expected to sell long-time Magpie winger Allan Saint-Maximin for £30m to Saudi Arabia club Al Ahli.

Saint-Maximin has been a key player for Newcastle during his spell in Tyneside, and his contributions played a significant role in keeping the team in the Premier League a few years ago.

Last summer marked a pivotal moment in his Newcastle career, with discussions about his availability for a price of around £40m being held among intermediaries and rival clubs, according to Craig Hope of the Daily Mail.

Despite interest from clubs who could afford him, Saint-Maximin remained at Newcastle, as the coaching staff led by Eddie Howe were keen on nurturing his talent further in a last attempt at unlocking his full potential.

The club’s recent signing of AC Milan midfielder Sandro Tonali for £52m, though, changed Newcastle’s equation and put the Premier League and Champions League-bound club in a financial conundrum, forcing them to complete some player sales to balance the books and comply with the Financial Fair Play rules going forward.

Saint-Maximin’s exit had been in the cards for more than a few months as a potential (partial) solution to this problem and is now closer than ever to becoming a reality.

ASM had expressed frustration at some points last season after being limited to cameo appearances off the pine, and there were rumors of his desire for an improved contract to remain at NUFC. It’s fair to assume that Saint-Maximin has played his last game for Newcastle, departing the organization with 13 goals through his seasons donning Magpies’ threads.