Chelsea hold talks over £38m deal as opening Newcastle United offer rejected

Chelsea have reportedly held talks over re-signing right-back Tino Livramento from Southampton.

The Blues sold the England under-21s international to the Saints for just £5million two years ago but could activate a buyback clause following strong interest from Newcastle United.

Negotiations between Newcastle and the Championship club have stalled, however, after struggling to reach a compromise over a fee. As reported by the Daily Telegraph, the Saints want more than £30m for Livramento, whereas United have only bid as high as £21m.

Chelsea, who inserted a hefty sell-on clause in Livaramento’s contract, have a buyback option of £38m, according to the Evening Standard. The Stamford Bridge club would be prepared to loan the 20-year-old back to Southampton for their 2023-24 Championship promotion push.

Livramento is open to staying at St Mary’s as a sign of loyalty after they supported him through his ACL injury. He spent 12 months on the sidelines before returning in May to feature in remaining Premier League fixtures against Brighton and Hove Albion and Liverpool.

Prior to his injury, the full-back had made 32 appearances for Southampton, which included scoring his first-ever senior goal in a 2-2 draw at home against Burnley.

Signing a right-back is not currently viewed as a priority position by Magpies’ head coach Eddie Howe with Emil Krafth and Harrison Ashby back-up options to England international Kieran Trippier.

Howe is keen to sign another central midfielder alongside the capture of Sandro Tonali from AC Milan, while recruiting a left-back, centre-back and versatile forward has been discussed.