It says so much about the quality Newcastle United are getting with Kieran Trippier that he has already started working towards his coaching qualifications.
Newcastle’s new right-back is an England international and La Liga winner who is leaving an elite European club who did not want to lose him. He adds pace, creativity, dead ball quality and – in the words of one Newcastle insider – a “brilliant mentality” that will lift standards around him. Newcastle have agreed an up front payment of £12m with Atletico Madrid and he will be announced on Wednesday after landing in the North East at lunchtime.
Trippier is renowned as an excellent professional and student of the game. Which is why it should come as no surprise that he has already tapped up Gareth Southgate and Sean Dyche as part of preparations for what comes after he retires.
The good news for Newcastle fans is that he remains “hungry” and by the end of his contract, which runs until 2024, he believes the club can be fighting at the top end of the Premier League.
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As far as statements go, it is a fairly emphatic one from new owners who always understood that they needed to hit the ground running in January to generate momentum and answer some of the lingering questions about their credibility in football circles.
They have landed their number one target and believe a second deal could be announced in time to integrate the player before they play Watford on 15 January.
A senior source has told i the club want a striker and centre-back, ideally before the visit of Watford in what has always been targeted as a key fixture in their battle to stay in the Premier League.
It is a break with the club’s previous transfer policy that football is being put at the forefront of decisions. The need for points this month – Watford comes before a trip to Leeds which is also pivotal – is driving their decision to act with speed over the Trippier deal and if they need to loosen the budget to get their targets they will.
So what comes next?
Newcastle will be in the conversation around midfielder Aaron Ramsey, who – it has been confirmed – will leave Juventus this month. But it is up front and at centre-back where the club’s priorities now lie.
Another target is Lucas Digne, the Everton defender who is available after falling out with Rafa Benitez. However, sources on Merseyside believe persuading the player to join a team in the bottom three may be problematic.
Having placed a premium on bringing in players who will fit into what Howe is trying to build, Newcastle will not . “We are not in the market for £100m prima donnas,” a senior source told i last month.
Instead Trippier is being viewed as the ideal deal: right profile, first rate mentality and the right price. Newcastle intend to do more of the same in a month they have targeted as being potentially transformative.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/32YbIW5
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