Newcastle United’s transfer strategy has been pretty spectacular since the change of ownership.
While PSR has limited Newcastle United’s ability to invest over the past few windows, the players who the Magpies have brought in have done incredibly well.
The Toon recruitment team have taken calculated gambles, buying players at the right time. Anthony Gordon is a great example of that, while even Alexander Isak was a gamble to a certain extent given the fact he had not played in England.
Newcastle also took a risk when they spent £32million on Tino Livramento. They bought the right-back from Southampton in the summer of 2023, investing heavily in a player who would go on to become Kieran Trippier’s replacement.
Eddie Howe was future-proofing his squad, but it was a gamble.
Liverpool had doubts over Tino Livramento
The move came on the back of Livramento recovering from an ACL injury which cost him just over a year of his career.
That represented a risk, but Newcastle were confident that Livramento’s game was not going to suffer despite enduring such a nasty injury.
That confidence was not shared elsewhere, with the Athletic reporting that both Arsenal and Liverpool were put off signing the defender as they had doubts over what he would be like when he recovered.
They opted not to gamble, whereas Newcastle rolled the dice and are reaping the rewards.
As he closes in on two full seasons at St James’ Park, there have been no concerns over Livramento’s fitness. He has established himself as Howe’s first choice right-back, while Livramento has proven to be an outstanding left-back too.
Livramento was an excellent investment from Newcastle United.
Trent Alexander-Arnold likely to leave Liverpool
The Athletic’s claim about Liverpool’s previous interest in Livramento comes at a time when Trent Alexander-Arnold is set to leave Anfield.
The 26-year-old is due to become a free agent at the end of the season, with the Scouser poised to join Real Madrid.
It is a rumoured move that is not going down well on Merseyside, with Liverpool fans furious that one of their own is potentially walking away for nothing.
It is a difficult situation for Liverpool, but one that would have been more palatable had they decided to land Livramento before Newcastle got him. Had they done that, they would already have Alexander-Arnold’s replacement.
Instead, he belongs to Newcastle United.
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