Newcastle
The £37million guarantee for Newcastle United if Kieran Trippier is ruled out at Chelsea
Newcastle United star Kieran Trippier hopes that the injury that forced him off against Wolverhampton Wanderers will not be too serious.
But both the captain and Eddie Howe can rest assured they have a ready-made replacement waiting in the wings if he does not make it for next Monday’s game against Chelsea. And what a game that would be for Livramento to star in against his old club and in his favoured position.
Much has been made about Newcastle’s summer transfer business not being a success, with Harvey Barnes barely featuring after injury, Sandro Tonali banned and Lewis Hall warming the bench a remarkable 24 times this season without getting on. But Livramento has almost certainly been the pick of the summer signings after his £37million move from Southampton.
Howe knows he is pretty much guaranteed energy down the right-hand side and if he can get him on the ball like United managed against Wolves, he can cause problems. Livramento’s goal was only the tip of the iceberg for Wanderers as he probed forward time after time in the second half.
Incredibly, Chelsea let Livramento go without playing a senior appearance but at 21, the Magpies have one of England’s most exciting stars on their hands now. Afterwards, Livramento spoke about feeling “loved” by the Newcastle crowd as they chanted his name when warming up and how he must be relishing the prospect of terrorising the club that let him go back in 2021.
When asked about Livramento’s contribution, Howe said after the game: “He’s an incredible athlete. He’s done very well whenever he’s played for us this season. I thought it was a great goal.”
Newcastle now head to Stamford Bridge looking for some revenge after being knocked out the Carabao Cup back in December. That night only a late slip up forced the game to penalties where Newcastle failed to hold their nerve before going out after misses from Matt Ritchie and Trippier.
With Mauricio Pochettino under pressure, this could be the perfect time to face the Blues as they struggle in the Premier League, sitting in the bottom half of the table. The game is all set up for Newcastle and particularly Livramento to rub salt into open wounds.