Southampton close to £5m deal for Chelsea starlet Tino Livramento
By Tom Gott
Right-back Tino Livramento is set to be the next academy starlet to leave Chelsea this summer, with a £5m move to Southampton close to being completed.
After seeing Fikayo Tomori complete a permanent move to AC Milan, Chelsea have since been forced to sell young stars Marc Guehi, Lewis Bate, Dynel Simeu and Myles Peart-Harris, with plenty of the Blues' academy gems fearing the path to the first team may be closed again.
Next to head out is 18-year-old right-back Livramento, who had been expected to follow Tariq Lamptey in swapping Chelsea for Brighton. However, as first revealed by the Daily Mail, it's Southampton who have won the race for Livramento's signature.
Southampton have agreed to pay around £5m for Chelsea's reigning Academy Player of the Season, who has entered the final 12 months of his contract at Stamford Bridge and has made it clear that he will not be signing an extension.
Chelsea did not want to lose Livramento but could not guarantee him the immediate first-team football he is looking for. They were forced to agree to a sale before he walks away for nothing, but The Athletic note that Chelsea have secured both a buy-back and a sell-on clause for the teenager.
A powerful, attack-minded defender, Livramento had attracted interest from the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and AC Milan, but he believes he is ready for first-team football and wants to join a side where he feels he has a genuine shot at playing.
That decision has led him to Southampton, although he will need to compete with 24-year-old Kyle Walker-Peters if he wants a shot in the starting lineup at St Mary's.
Should Livramento's departure go through as expected, it would take Chelsea's earnings for the summer to around £60m.
That money could be immediately reinvested in Sevilla centre-back Jules Kounde, who comes with a £63m release clause but could be available for cheaper if Chelsea can find a suitable player to offer up in exchange.
Chelsea also have ambitious plans to spend over £100m on a new striker, with Erling Haaland, Romelu Lukaku and Harry Kane all on the radar.