Newcastle United’s ‘outstanding’ £60m masterstroke as Troy Deeney shut down
Ciaran Kelly
4 – 5 minutes
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, of course. Yet you suspect Tino Livramento being left out of the latest England squad may yet benefit the Newcastle United defender in the long run.
Why? Not only did those more senior figures in his position flounder against Senegal and Andorra – Livramento has been given the chance to gain precious tournament experience at the under-21 Euros ahead of next summer’s World Cup.
Livramento missed the previous Euros through injury and England boss Thomas Tuchel wanted to give the defender the opportunity to play one last international competition for the under-21s in order to see him in a ‘leadership role taking responsibility, knowing that it is on his shoulders’.
A similar brief brought the best out of Anthony Gordon, James Trafford, Cole Palmer and others a couple of years ago when England won the Euros and it did not take Livramento long to catch the eye in the Young Lions’ opening group game on Thursday night.
Livramento was a constant threat in the 3-1 win against the Czech Republic, having had a hand in two of his side’s goals, and the full-back was deservedly named man of the match. You certainly would not have known that Livramento was technically playing out of position at left-back.
That was also the case in the final months of the campaign when Livramento stepped up in the injured Lewis Hall’s absence for Newcastle. To the point where you wondered which was Livramento’s natural side.
Tino Livramento kept Mohamed Salah quiet in the Carabao Cup final
Tino Livramento kept Mohamed Salah quiet in the Carabao Cup final
It was hardly a coincidence, for instance, that Mohamed Salah failed to attempt a shot or create a chance after Livramento expertly shackled Liverpool star in the Carabao Cup final back in March. For context, over the course of 90-plus minutes, that had never happened in any of the hundreds of previous games that Salah had played for Liverpool in his eight seasons with the champions.
Remarkably, just a few days previously, against West Ham, Livramento looked very much like a right-back playing at left-back in his first game filling in for Hall, who is such an important player for Newcastle. Yet the defender has gone from strength to strength since then for Eddie Howe’s side.
“The beauty of Tino is he can do both,” the Newcastle boss said last month. “He’s been absolutely outstanding at left-back. I have to say. He’s been brilliant.
“For some players, playing on the wrong side can really open up the pitch and it’s been that for Tino. His left foot is actually pretty good. He’s produced some brilliant crosses off that – standing the ball up back post – but he has also got obvious strengths when he comes on to his right foot.
“The biggest thing is he’s got a great football brain. That’s allowed him to play with real freedom.
“We’ve asked him to do a couple of things differently tactically and he’s been able to execute that. I think his game from going to the left has definitely gone up two or three levels, but I see him going back to right-back in the future while also still having the ability potentially to stay at left-back depending on what the team needs.”
To think it was just a few months ago that pundit Troy Deeney claimed he was ‘not sure on Livramento’ before questioning what the 22-year-old was ‘great at’. However, in an era where some quality full-backs cost upwards of £60m, Newcastle have already secured two for the price of one in Livramento and Hall – and these England internationals still have their best years ahead of them.
Newcastle United’s 2024-25 campaign has to rank as one of the best in living memory. Not only did Eddie Howe’s side qualify for the Champions League by securing fifth place in the Premier League, but they ended their long wait for silverware by winning the Carabao Cup
Our special Chronicle end-of-season edition celebrates an incredible campaign for the Magpies, with in-depth analysis, ratings and interviews of a season to remember.
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