Lee Carsley has praised a Newcastle United player who has been sensational under Eddie Howe all season.
It is the international break, where some players get the chance to start their summer holiday and recharge ahead of pre-season. However, that is not the case for several Newcastle United players.
A handful of Eddie Howe’s men have received call-ups to their national squads, including Anthony Gordon and Dan Burn for England, while Sandro Tonali was given the nod to play for Italy.
Additionally, Alexander Isak was named in Sweden’s squad, but has since dropped out with injury.
Howe will no doubt have a close eye on his players throughout the international break, including one star who has received some brilliant praise from England under-21s head coach Lee Carsley.
Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images
Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images
Lee Carsley praises ‘excellent’ Newcastle United star Tino Livramento
This season, Tino Livramento has been a key difference maker for Newcastle, putting in brilliant performances at right-back for the first months of the season before being an unlikely hero at left-back when Lewis Hall got injured.
Livramento is now playing for England’s under-21s on international duty, having been snubbed by Thomas Tuchel in the latest round of senior games with the England squad for games against Andorra and Senegal.
Reports have claimed Manchester City are interested in Livramento, but Newcastle are adamant they will not sell him this summer.
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However, both teams will be very eager to hear what Carsley has just said about the 22-year-old.
“He’s a top player. An excellent player,” Carsley said in his latest press conference.
“Tino’s had some injuries in the past which have held him back. Without those injuries, I think he’d have been a lot further ahead now than where he is in terms of pushing for a senior position. So, he’s highly-rated both on and off the pitch.
“The fact that he can play two, three positions (is a big bonus). I remember the first camp I ever had with Tino was an Under-20s one and I might have played him on the right wing.”
Carsley picked Livramento for the England senior team in 2024, handing him his debut. He believes that Livramento will still win many more caps in his career.
“He always turns up with so much enthusiasm,” he added . “We’ve tried to help him as much as we can when he’s here as well, in terms of when things haven’t been going so well for him.
“We’ve still picked him and still tried to give him game time. He fully deserves to be here, and I expect him to have a massive future with the senior team.”
Why Thomas Tuchel did not pick Tino Livramento in his latest England squad
There is no denying how important Livramento has been for Newcastle this season, especially in the latter stages when he was covering for Hall.
Livramento’s performances were exactly what Newcastle needed when things were starting to look bleak just before the Carabao Cup final.
However, that does not seem to have been enough for Tuchel to name him in his England squad in June.
On the decision, Tuchel said: “Together with Tino Livramento, Jarell Quansah, Elliott Anderson and Liam Delap – all names who could play a role for us but a major tournament comes up for the Under-21s and the intention is they play a big part in this tournament.
“I like it a lot that they have chances to be leaders in this group, to be players we hopefully will rely on. We will monitor them closely but we decided that with these players they take the responsibility for the Under-21s.”