‘Outstanding’ £32m Newcastle man has to start against Liverpool ahead of 31-year-old defender
One Newcastle United player simply must be in the starting line-up for Newcastle United as they take on Liverpool in their first game of 2024.
Dan Burn has been a very reliable and solid defender for Eddie Howe since joining from Brighton for £13m in 2022, but his recent performances have left a lot to be desired and this is a key game for Newcastle.
Tino Livramento has shown a lot of promise since making his debut for Newcastle in the Carabao Cup, often being one of the best players on the pitch regardless of the result and he is the natural replacement for Burn on Monday.
Livramento has been one of Newcastle’s players lately
It would be a bit of a struggle trying to pick out who has been Newcastle’s best players in their latest run of games, with just one win since that 1-0 victory over Manchester United at the beginning of the month.
That said, there are a few players who have stood out and walked away with their heads held high despite the results. Lewis Miley and Bruno Guimaraes have shone in the midfield, but Livramento is perhaps the only defender to have performed admirably throughout December.
That’s exactly why he has to start against Liverpool at left-back, particularly with the daunting task of facing Mohammed Salah coming up which is already terrifying Newcastle fans.
It’s not that Burn is a bad defender or has massively struggled in a Newcastle shirt, but the £32m signing from Southampton has proven time and time again to be a quality full-back on both the defensive and attacking side of the game.
Livramento can help Newcastle change their style against Liverpool
Newcastle have had great success with the way they’ve played football under Howe so far, but things have started to grow a bit stale as of late and the team often look out of ideas when falling behind.
Typically when Newcastle are in possession Kieran Trippier would push further forwards and Newcastle’s defence would shift into a back three with Burn as a left-sided centre-back, a position he is more suited to.
However, the team have been found out on more than one occasion and it may be time for Howe to freshen things up with the introduction of the ‘outstanding‘ Livramento into the defence.
It may not be the easiest of fixtures for Howe to essentially experiment with a change of tactic, but the team are no doubt expected to lose by most anyway so there’s almost nothing to lose.
