Newcastle set for Tino Livramento for delay - Report

After the Alexander Isak saga this summer, and how frustrating it was to negotiate with Liverpool, we'd be wise to avoid drawn out sagas with any other 'big six' clubs for the foreseeable future.

The whole situation seemed to have inspired us to do all we can to lock down our top talent, with sporting director Ross Wilson identifying Tino Livramento and Sven Botman in recent weeks as stars we need to tie down to new deals.

But despite all our hard work and intentions behind the scenes, we may soon be dragged into another bitter battle to keep one of those, as Man City's interest in Tino threatens to complicate contract talks...

Tino delaying new deal with Man City in the mix?

According to The Mail’s Craig Hope, Tino Livramento looks set to delay any decision over the signing of a new deal with until nearer the end of the current campaign.

Despite Livramento having engaged in positive discussions with Wilson over an extension, and the fact that his current deal doesn’t expire until 2028, it's thought Man City are showing strong interest after watching the full-back closely for some time.

City are more than capable of splashing the cash and getting who they want at a moment’s notice, so it's a concern that Tino is 'leaving his options open' now Pep Guardiola's side are sniffing about.

You only have to look back at their January transfer window last season, where they brought in Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov for a combined fee of over £170m.

Considering their current right back options, where Khusanov and Matheus Nunes are Guardiola’s more dependable options, and it’s no surprise Livramento is so highly sought after as they look for a long-term Kyle Walker replacement.

For Newcastle, Tino may be settled, not agitating to leave and enjoying working under Eddie Howe, but consistently getting Champions League football may be absolutely imperative if we want to keep a player destined for the very top of English football.

Full-backs to be big focus in 2026

The quality and style of play that Livramento and his left back counterpart Lewis Hall offer us is truly something to behold.

We’re a far, far better side with the young duo in it, despite how reliable Kieran Trippier and Emil Krafth have been through the years.

The issue is our lack of depth, so it's a concern to see Tino linked with a potential move when we already have full-backs to sign. A cover left-back is already needed, while a back-up right-back may already be required as Trippier and Krafth see their current deals expire next summer.

With that in mind, it feels important to keep Tino on Tyneside in 2026, otherwise it could be a big year of ins and outs in those positions, with Matt Targett also due to depart on a free transfer once he returns from his loan with Middlesbrough.

But much like Isak, what do we do if/when Manchester City offer us money that we simply cannot refuse? They signed Josko Gvardiol for close to £80m from RB Leipzig a couple of seasons ago, so would be it be too far to suggest that we should be charging north of that figure to sign Livramento, considering his prior Premier League experience and arguably higher ceiling?

Any sale in that region would see us more than double our money on the £32m we spent on signing him from Southampton, which would go a tremendous way towards helping our PSR standings and bolstering the rest of the squad: a real headache that Howe and the recruitment team may have to ponder come the end of this season.