Insider issues update on Tino Livramento-Manchester City transfer speculation

Newcastle United have no plans to sell Tino Livramento to Manchester City, despite serious interest and a willingness from the champions to go as high as £65 million, according to Craig Hope of the Daily Mail.

“City’s interest is genuine and it remains,” Hope reported. “My sources in Manchester say they’d go to at least £65m for the defender. The word back from Tyneside? Not even £165m would be enough!”

Newcastle consider Livramento irreplaceable due to his age, quality, versatility, and developmental ceiling. The club sees him as a long-term piece and believe he’s best suited to continue growing under Eddie Howe.

“There is also a feeling that young players like Livramento and Lewis Hall know that they’re best off under Howe’s tutelage at this stage in their career,” Hope wrote.

City, meanwhile, are weighing their options at right-back after the departure of Kyle Walker. While Inter’s Denzel Dumfries could be a “realistic” option, Livramento would represent a better deal for Pep Guardiola’s side in the long run due to his age, homegrown status, and potential.

Newcastle United have £70m transfer trump card to play even after Liverpool twist

Newcastle United look set to lose out to Liverpool in the race to sign Hugo Ekitike but the Magpies clearly have the capacity to make a statement signing this summer

It may have been an in-house interview, but Eddie Howe’s frustrations were clear.

“There has been a lot of work transfer wise for very little incoming wise,” the Newcastle United boss admitted.

Those words were timely. Hugo Ekitike looked bound for Liverpool at the time of recording and the striker is set to join Joao Pedro, Liam Delap and Dean Huijsen on a list of quality players that Newcastle looked at – only to see the quartet ultimately move elsewhere this summer.

Newcastle’s ambition is not in doubt – the black-and-whites are fishing in a shallow pool alongside a number of other big hitters – but Anthony Elanga remains the club’s only major signing with just a few weeks to go until the start of the new campaign.

It brings back one or two memories. It was on this day a couple of years ago that Newcastle travelled to Glasgow for a pre-season friendly with just one senior signing through the door after qualifying for the Champions League. Fast forward to the present day and history looks to be repeating itself before the trip to Celtic Park on Saturday.

Newcastle went on to recruit Harvey Barnes, Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall in the final weeks of the window in 2023 and the Magpies still have the capacity to make significant additions this summer – even if Howe will have to be smart to strengthen multiple positions.