Eddie Howe makes seismic Newcastle United call - huge responsibility for 21 y/o star
Kieran Trippier is understood to be angling for a Newcastle United exit - paving the way for Tino Livramento to stake his claim
Tino Livramento is set to be given a chance as Newcastle United’s starting right-back this season, according to reports.
The England under-21 international arrived last summer and impressed in an understudy role throughout his debut campaign. Memorable performances against Manchester City and Manchester United gave Toon fans a glimpse of Livramento’s talents who, just months earlier, recovered from an ACL injury.
Livramento started the season opener last weekend and will likely continue as Newcastle’s first choice this season. That is because The Athletic claim Kieran Trippier wants to leave to pursue first-team football.
NewcastleWorld were made aware of Trippier possibly leaving earlier this year - just weeks after the January transfer window when he almost joined Bayern Munich. But there was never any suggestion this was for football reasons - until now.
The report claims the 33-year-old wants regular minutes, with Livramento emerging as United’s future at right-back. Another sign of Trippier angling for an exit was Bruno Guimaraes assuming the on-field captaincy earlier this week.
Despite that, Eddie Howe played down suggestions last week that Livramento - signed from Southampton for £35million - was guaranteed a start. He told reporters: "I think performances will dictate that (whether he starts). Not his feeling - it will be how he performs. Physically, he is in a good place.
"We really believe in him and love his qualities and what he brings to the team. But he has great competition there with Kieran. It is going to be fascinating to see how those players compete. We have two top talents and two amazing characters so it will be amazing to see."