Under Roman Abramovich, the openness of the Chelsea hierarchy to allow Cobham’s most eye-catching talents to so easily depart the club has been one of English football’s greatest myths.
It becomes even more questionable when considering how this money has been reinvested. Romelu Lukaku, Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, and Hakim Ziyech are all massive names who have been funded in this manner and arguably failed to deliver consistently.
With this backdrop, the sale of Tino Livramento to Southampton in the summer of 2021 is one of the club’s strangest ideas. The right-back was named Chelsea’s Academy Player of the Year at the time and a failure to strike an agreement with the youngster was viewed as a dramatic failure.
Two years later, the Blues are linked with a sensational return for the 20-year-old.
Does Tino Livaremento have a buy-back clause?
According to the Daily Mail, the West London outfit has shown a “surprise interest” in re-signing Livramento from the south coast.
Alongside Chelsea, who reportedly have a £40m buy-back clause, high-flying Newcastle have made several bids but none have yet convinced his parent club to do business.
The outlet details that Livramento supposedly prefers a move up north, but he is “relaxed” about the situation, respecting that his current deal with the Saints runs until 2025, and he has no plans to push for a move.
Should Tino Livramento return to Chelsea?
During his stint in the English capital, the £8k-per-week star emerged as one of the club’s most revered and talented youngsters. In the 2020/21 season, Livramento made six appearances for the development squad, who were crowned as Premier League 2 champions, and helped the youth team reach a 13th FA Youth Cup final.
His 30 outings for both sides made him the top appearance-maker across all competitions and the star recorded ten assists to seal the award as the academy’s best product.
Livramento’s move to Southampton initially started in an empathic fashion – in 28 Premier League matches in the 2021/22 campaign, he averaged 1.9 tackles, 1.7 interceptions, and 1.7 clearances to underline his supreme defensive solidity.
However, his impressive term prematurely ended when he suffered an ACL injury against Brighton in April 2022, which ruled him out for over a year.
A return of a familiar face to the Chelsea ranks could instil more stability and fits in with the club's policy of targeting the world’s brightest prospects. Levi Colwill also slots in this bill, and he could form a formidable partnership with his former teammate in the future for Mauricio Pochettino.
The centre-back is currently away on international duty with the England U21s at the European Championship and has been in scintillating form. He has played in four of his team’s five games and is yet to concede a goal at the tournament.
The star has displayed a masterful merge of defensive solidarity and ball-playing competence, as he’s averaged 93% pass accuracy, 3.8 clearances per game, and has won 77% of his aerial duels at the competition.
At no cost can Chelsea allow this imperious homegrown asset to depart this summer and the prospect of him starting with the “fantastic” Livramento – as dubbed by Darren Bent – is an exciting prospect.
