Rafael Benitez turned down the chance to bring Tino Livramento to Everton before Premier League rivals Southampton signed the former Chelsea youngster instead, as reported by The Athletic.
As Marcel Brands reflects on his three-and-a-half year stint at Goodison Park, the straight-talking Dutchman could be forgiven for coming to the conclusion that things may have gone a whole lot better had he been given the freedom and the autonomy to do the job he was employed to do.
The Athletic points out that Brands, appointed to oversee recruitment at Everton, had very little say in the ill-fated £35 million signing of Alex Iwobi from Arsenal.
It was not his idea, either, to hand James Rodriguez a staggering £250,000-a-week deal. Or Bernard a further £100,000-a-week, for that matter.
Furthermore, neither Carlo Ancelotti nor Rafa Benitez were Brands picks either. Managerial appointments were chosen instead by Everton’s meddling majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri.
There were divisions, too, between Brands and Benitez; a pair of headstrong individuals who never say eye to eye during their time together on the blue half of Merseyside.
Why did Everton turn down Tino Livramento?
Everton were desperate to bring in a new right-back over the summer. But, despite Brands’ best efforts, one would never arrive.
It is understood that the former PSV chief recommended Livramento, as well as now-Inter Milan flyer Denzel Dumfries. Benitez, however, wanted a right-back with a proven track record in the Premier League and neither ticked that particular box.
At the time, Livramento had not made a single top-flight appearance.
Five months after his £5 million move to Southampton, the England U21 international now has 15 to his name, emerging as one of the breakthrough stars of the current campaign under Ralph Hasenhuttl on the South Coast.
“I think Tino Livramento, when talking about young players, has had an excellent start to the season,” said none other than England manager Gareth Southgate recently.
Livramento is rumoured to have a clause in his contract allowing Chelsea to bring him back to Stamford Bridge in the future – albeit for an eye-watering sum of £50 million.
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