Hasenhuttl on potential Livramento position change at Southampton

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has addressed the ongoing discussion about whether young star Tino Livramento could potential play a role in his attack in the future.

After several all-action displays that have seen marauding runs from right-back, Saints supporters have been wondering if the 18-year-old could be moved further forward. From his quotes, it seems that Hasenhuttl has seen components of his player’s game that could fit elsewhere on the pitch.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of his side’s clash with Manchester City on Saturday, Hasenhuttl said:

"“I’m sure he could play this position now also. The question is where you can bring his qualities best to shine, if you want – this is the goal I have to look at every week. He has these qualities upfront because he is so quick but he is also defensively very strong. In these positions, there are very often very strong one against one players.”"

Hasenhuttl admits he could see Livramento as a winger in the future

Livramento did play some games as a right-winger whilst in the academy setup at Chelsea and it seems that he would be capable of playing any position along the right flank given his natural athleticism.

In the same answer that he gave above, Ralph Hasenhuttl did say that he had no reason to move Livramento forward because of the wealth of options he already has but then also admitted that this did not mean his £5m man would not play positions other than right-back in the future.

It is certainly an interesting debate and only goes to show just how much talent Livramento has for himself and Saints as a club to develop.

The £5m fee that Saints paid to bring him to St Mary’s already looks like the bargain of the century and it is no surprise that some reports have claimed Chelsea have a buyback option close to £40m and a significant sell-on clause.

Looking at Hasenhuttl’s quotes, it seems as though fans may well see Livramento in an attacking role at some stage this season if there are injuries that mean unavailability of other players.

However, given that he is doing just fine where he is positioned right now, there is no real reason to change things at right-back right now.