SAINTS’ most recent summer signing Tino Livramento has revealed that manager Ralph Hasenhuttl was highly persuasive in getting him to switch Chelsea, admitting “the passion that he shows, I just can’t wait to get started.”
Tino Livramento said “The manager was quite a big factor as to why I wanted to come here, the passion that he shows, I just can’t wait to get started. He wanted to tell me a lot, he wants to tell me a lot about how he wants me to come in and train, how he wants me to play, what he wants me to bring to the team. That was really attractive to me to see him expressing those emotions. Showing how he sees me playing in a Premier League team, which is really big for me being 18 – it was a really good conversation. You do need to be good defensively and Ralph said he sees that’s an area he can help me improve, I believe with his help that’s what I can bring to the table as well, a good defensive right-back.”
When asked about what he sees in Saints as a club, he was equally complimentary.
Tino Livramento said “It’s a talented group but I know what I can add to it, as I say I can’t wait to get started. They are now an established Premier League team, they’ve always been notorious for bringing through youth payers, you look at your Gareth Bale’s, Theo Walcott is obviously back at the club now. It’s a healthy environment for me to come and grow. I never wanted to be tied down to a huge deal and then not get a lot of first-team opportunities, I felt like this was the best place to come and test myself. If Southampton comes in for you and you’re 18, there’s not many people that would turn that down.”
The 18-year-old right-sided player has been with the Blues since the start of his footballing development but has followed fellow academy youngster Dynel Simeu and made the south-coast switch. Having won the academy’s Player of the Year award back in May, Livramento would be following in the footsteps of previous winners such as Mason Mount and Reece James – who have become England internationals and Champions League winners while at Chelsea. But Livramento has insisted he “can’t wait to get started” at Saints and has named Hasenhuttl as a driving force in his decision.
