Chelsea make incredible U-turn by preparing £38m defender move with immediate next transfer planned

Chelsea have opened talks to sign Tino Livramento back from Southampton two years after selling him, according to reports.

Livramento came through the Chelsea academy but failed to make his senior debut for them before being sold to Southampton in 2021. He made 32 appearances across all competitions in a breakout debut season on the South Coast.

However, a serious ACL injury limited him to just two Premier League appearances in 2022-23. Nevertheless, Premier League clubs are queuing up for him after Southampton’s relegation.

Newcastle have already been trying to sign Livramento, but are yet to meet the asking price. Now, the Daily Mail has revealed that Chelsea are actually back in the hunt for the right-back.

According to the report, talks are underway between the Blues and Saints. Chelsea’s plan is to buy Livramento back but offer him to Southampton on loan for the 2023-24 campaign.

Southampton have been holding out for a fee in the region of £38m for Livramento, which is £30m more than they paid Chelsea for him originally.

What works in Chelsea’s favour is that they included a sell-on clause in the original deal with Southampton. In theory, they could get Livramento for a lower net sum than any of his other suitors, since some of their payment would be coming straight back.

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Livramento could complete third Southampton season then join Chelsea

Allowing him to then spend a season in the Championship may be useful as he looks to get his development back on track following his long-term injury.

Still only 20 years old, Livramento is under contract at St. Mary’s Stadium until 2026.

There have been rumours that Chelsea have a buyback clause for the England youth international anyway. Either way, they are ready to discuss a deal with Southampton, so it seems.

Chelsea’s main existing right-back is Reece James, who has suffered from his own injury issues recently. Their other option has been Cesar Azpilicueta, but the club captain is now about to leave for Atletico Madrid.

In January, Chelsea lined up the signing of Malo Gusto. After he finished the season on loan at Lyon in a similar arrangement to the one Chelsea are planning with Southampton for Livramento, he could be integrated at the start of the Mauricio Pochettino era.

Then, from the 2024-25 campaign onwards, Livramento could be at their disposal once more.