‘Very clever’ player wants to sign for Newcastle, but could now join Chelsea

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Newcastle United’s bid to sign Tino Livramento has hit a roadblock, and now Chelsea have entered the conversation.

There was reportedly confidence that the 20-year-old would join the Magpies last week, with Eddie Howe’s side making a move for the talented defender.

However, that confidence appears to be diminishing, with Newcastle unable to agree a fee with the Saints. They want more than £30million, because whatever fee they get a large percentage of it goes to Chelsea due to their sell-on fee.

That has created a stalemate between Newcastle and Southampton – even though the right-back is keen to move to St James’ Park.

It would give him route back to the Premier League, but now Livramento might have an alternative path.

Chelsea hold talks to sign Tino Livramento

According to the Daily Mail, Chelsea have held talks with Southampton about signing Livramento. This comes two years after they sold him to the Saints for just £4million.

The report states that the Blues would immediately loan Livramento back, meaning he would spend the season playing in the Championship before heading to Stamford Bridge in 2024.

It is an odd move from Chelsea, as they already have Reece James, while they agreed a deal to sign Malo Gusto in January – another player Newcastle were looking at.

Any move to Chelsea would be complicated by the sell-on clause. It would give Mauricio Pochettino’s side the chance to agree a cheaper deal, which makes sense from a business perspective.

However, it does not make sense in respect of the fact they sold him for £4million two years ago, and are now looking to re-sign him for a hugely inflated figure. It sums up how poorly they operate when it comes to their young players.

But their mismanagement could be to Newcastle’s detriment, as Chelsea make their move. Or perhaps it is a smokescreen in the media, intended for the Magpies to up their offer for the ‘very clever‘ youngster.

This is a pivotal week in the race to sign Livramento, and Chelsea may feel like they are now in pole position.