It was hoped that Tino Livramento would be Newcastle United’s second signing of the summer.
After completing a deal for Sandro Tonali, it then looked like the Magpies were closing in on a defender who would be the ideal deputy for Kieran Trippier.
It was reported that Newcastle were confident about signing Livramento, despite having a £23million bid rejected for the young defender.
Livramento is keen to move to St James’ Park, and would rather move to the North East than re-sign for Chelsea, who have also shown an interest in the 20-year-old.
But despite his desire to join Eddie Howe’s side, a deal has not been reached. It was recently reported that there was a stalemate, with Newcastle and Southampton unable to agree a fee – and if progress stalled then the Magpies would walk away.
There have been no more noises about Livramento coming to Newcastle, but now the Daily Mail’s Craig Hope has offered Toon fans some…hope.
Newcastle still looking to sign Tino Livramento
According to Hope on Twitter, Newcastle’s deal to sign Livramento from Southampton is still ‘live’.
That would at least suggest that some progress has been made, as it is clear that the Toon recruitment team have not pulled out of a deal just yet.
Hope adds that Newcastle do need to move players on to ease their FFP concerns, which has led to a lot of speculation that Allan Saint-Maximin could leave the club.
His potential exit could coincide with the arrival of Harvey Barnes, who is closing in on a move to St James’ Park.
After that, Newcastle might need to focus on exits, which could potentially delay a deal for the ‘very clever‘ Livramento even more.
That is a shame, as he is an ideal signing who could have a really bright future on Tyneside. He is still a target and still someone who the club are trying to sign, but perhaps that initial confidence was misplaced.
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