There is suddenly competition for places in the Newcastle United starting XI.
The Newcastle United midfield has Joelinton, Joe Willock, Sean Longstaff and Lewis Miley competing for the honour of playing alongside Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali.
Elsewhere, Harvey Barnes is having to settle for cameos off the bench, while Sven Botman will soon return to the first-team after his ACL injury.
Eddie Howe’s squad is much stronger than it was last season, with the Newcastle United manager actually able to influence games with his substitutes.
Tino Livramento retaining his place in the Newcastle XI
Jens Cajuste of Ipswich Town shoots whilst under pressure from Tino Livramento of Newcastle United during the Premier League match between Ipswich ...
Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images
Players are under pressure to retain their place in the starting XI, and the man that is most true of is Tino Livramento.
Earlier this season, Kieran Trippier ousted him from Howe’s lineup, and there was a feeling he would do that again upon his recent return from injury.
But Livramento has remain in the Newcastle starting XI, and Eddie Howe has said during his pre-match press conference that he is delighted with how the 22-year-old is playing as of late and his development as a whole.
“I thought Tino has really played well in the last few games,” he said.
MORE NEWCASTLE STORIES
“Really pleased. Especially against Ipswich. His technical delivery was at a really high level.
“I thought they were very good down the right side with him and Jacob in tandem together. I always think relationships in the team are so important. You go back a couple of years ago to the relationship between Kieran, Miggy, Jacob and Sean was so strong for us.
“Through injury, we’ve had to find a couple of new solutions. It takes time to build those relationships but I think we’ve seen in recent weeks some really strong partnerships emerging.
“Really pleased with Tino’s development. Physically he’s looked really good. I’m very happy with him.”
Livramento’s level means Newcastle can afford to lose Kieran Trippier
As Howe says, Livramento has really improved. The £32million defender is not getting a lot of the limelight given Lewis Hall’s remarkable rise, but he still deserves praise for the improvement he has shown.
And Livramento has certainly had to improve, as he continues to keep the experienced Trippier out of the side.
In fact, Livramento’s current level means that the thought of Trippier leaving St James’ Park is much more palatable. The 34-year-old has been incredibly valuable during his Toon career, but Livramento replacing him happened sooner than anticipated.
Now Newcastle are in position that they can afford to lose Trippier, who did try to leave St James’ Park during the summer.
You would assume he will seek an exit once again in January or beyond. That may depend on whether Newcastle can replace him, because the Magpies still need the depth at right-back even if Livramento has nailed down his place in the starting lineup.
Related Posts