Leeds United Championship rivals receive major transfer windfall as £30m agreement reached

Livramento has penned a five-year deal on Tyneside as the post-relegation exodus continues for last season’s demoted Premier League sides.

Leeds have bid farewell to Rodrigo and several first-team players on season-long loans this summer, while Leicester City have parted company with Harvey Barnes, James Maddison and Youri Tielemans.

Southampton, on the other hand, have managed to retain core assets Romeo Lavia, James Ward-Prowse and Tino Livramento until now, however the latter was announced on Tuesday morning as a Newcastle player.

The Saints are still expected to lose Lavia and Ward-Prowse, with the former attracting multiple bids from Liverpool, all of which have been rejected as the St Mary’s Stadium hierarchy hold out for their £50 million asking price.

In the meantime, Southampton have agreed the sale of Livramento for an initial £30 million with a potential further £5 million in future add-ons, according to various reports.

Livramento’s former club Chelsea are reportedly due a sizeable chunk of Southampton’s incoming fee, in the form of a sell-on clause, therefore the Saints will not have the entire £30 million to reinvest in the transfer market. Although, the transfer still represents a sum which exceeds the money Leeds have received this summer totalling roughly £4 million from the sales of Rodrigo and Tyler Roberts.

"We have to have smart movements also due to the financial situations because it’s more or less no incoming money due to the exit clauses with all these loans, so the situation is like it is. It will take a while to be this situation's sorted out and we as a club are back in the driver's seat till then we have to stay disciplined,” Leeds boss Daniel Farke said following the 2-2 draw with Cardiff last weekend.

"We try in the end of August to be there with an even stronger squad than today,” he pledged.