Chelsea are reportedly plotting a move to re-sign Southampton full-back Tino Livramento.
The England under-21 international has been linked with a move away from St Mary’s after the Saints’ 11-year stay in the Premier League came to an end last season. Newcastle United have been in the driving seat for the youngster’s signature, but negotiations with Southampton have reached an impasse of late.
With the Magpies failing to agree on a deal, Chelsea have apparently spotted the chance to pursue a move for their former academy graduate. According to The Daily Mail, Chelsea are in discussions with Southampton over a potential move for Tino Livramento.
Southampton currently value Livramento at around £38m, which is significantly higher than the £8m they paid to Chelsea for his services in the summer of 2021. The Blues are keen to agree a deal that would see the full-back return immediately to Southampton on loan to gain valuable playing time, the report adds.
Tino Livramento to Chelsea—Should the Blues pay the asking fee?
Mauricio Pochettino has begun his work on Chelsea’s squad rebuild for next season after a disappointing 2022/23 campaign saw the club finish 12th in the Premier League. The Blues invested heavily in expensive signings in the previous two transfer windows but their efforts were in vain.
Pochettino is overseeing an overhaul at Stamford Bridge, especially in midfield as he tries to build his team around club-record signing Enzo Fernandez. The new Chelsea boss remains keen to sign central midfielders, having lost the likes of N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Mason Mount and Ruben Loftus-Cheek last month.
In addition to reinforcing the midfield unit, Pochettino is understood to be interested in signing Southampton full-back Tino Livramento.
Livramento became an instant hit at St Mary’s, having only played youth football at Chelsea before arriving. The 20-year-old’s impressive debut season ended prematurely in April 2022 when he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury which saw him sidelined for 13 months, ruling him out for most of the last campaign that ended in the Saints’ relegation. The youngster recovered in time to make substitute appearances in Southampton’s final two games of the season.
Livramento’s talents were recognised at Chelsea during the 2020/21 campaign when he was named the Academy Player of the Year. Despite being highly rated in the youth setup, he left the Blues without making a single appearance for the first team.
While Livramento was impressive in his breakthrough Premier League season in 2021-22 with Southampton, Chelsea’s interest in re-signing him comes as a big surprise with Reece James and new addition from Lyon Malo Gusto already in their roster. James and Gusto should be sufficient options to compete at right-back next season, which makes it pointless for the Blues to splash around £38m to re-sign Livramento.
Instead, Pochettino and Chelsea must look to invest some portion of that cash in signing their No.1 midfield target—Brighton’s Moises Caicedo. All in all, Chelsea must avoid signing Livramento now as the right-back area looks sorted at least for the next season.
