Journalist now says Newcastle are a ‘long way’ from signing ‘very clever’ defender

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Tino Livramento’s move from Southampton to Newcastle United may not be as close as we thought it was yesterday according to one source.

TalkSPORT‘s Alex Crook has attempted to pour cold water on the Newcastle links to Tino Livramento on Twitter this morning.

While Crook doesn’t deny the interest, he has claimed that a deal is far from being done, saying: “Livramento to #NUFC is not close. #SaintsFC do not want to sell and the two clubs are a long way apart in their valuations.”

There are conflicting reports about how far along the deal is

Crook’s statement is almost the exact opposite of what The Chronicle have said this morning. Reporting on potential exits from the club, the article states “[Harvey] Barnes completed his medical on Thursday, while Southampton have accepted an offer for Livramento, who is happy to join [Eddie] Howe‘s side.”

In fact, on Friday there was a lot of talk about the deal gathering pace, so why all of a sudden Alex Crook believes the two clubs are still miles apart is anyone’s guess.

TalkSPORT later doubled down on Crooks’ claims by releasing an article suggesting that Southampton were holding out for an eye-watering £50million.

Regardless of whose source is right, it does still look like things are heading in the right direction for Newcastle and Livramento and the Magpies could soon get their man.

Newcastle’s right-back position will be set for years with Livramento

The 20-year-old full-back missed almost the entirety of last season through injury but made his return in the final two games for Southampton. That, along with a full pre-season behind him should see him fit and ready to go for the new campaign, wherever he may be plying his trade.

If the transfer to Newcastle goes through, Eddie Howe will be getting an ideal long-term successor to Kieran Trippier. One that was dubbed a ‘very clever‘ player and compared to Gareth Bale by former Southampton man Theo Walcott.

Having already signed Harrison Ashby in January, the long-term future of that right-back position will look very healthy indeed if Howe can bring in Livramento too.