KILLER DEAL
£12m Trippier has set the bar like Kilcline did, says Terry Mac
TERRY MCDERMOTT is hoping Toon transfer window arrival Kieran Trippier can be the new Brian ‘Killer’ Kilcline and help Newcastle avoid the drop.
Almost 30 years ago Mcdermott and Kevin Keegan were parachuted in by the Geordies, who were staring relegation to football’s third tier in the face.
New owner Sir John Hall had ended Keegan’s Spanish exile by asking him to become manager, with Mcdermott joining his former Liverpool and Newcastle team-mate as his assistant.
Mcdermott said: “Our first signing after Kevin and I took over was Brian Kilcline and to this day Kevin rates ‘Killer’ as his best-ever signing. If Kieran Trippier can have the same impact then fantastic.”
This time around under Eddie Howe it’s all about defying the odds and maintaining their Premier League status before growing under their Saudi Arabia benefactors.
Mcdermott (right) added: “I believe it’s a very good signing. It has set the right marker and I’m sure there will be more to come.
“It’s vital that Newcastle get the right players in because with the threat of relegation they have got to hit the ground running. They have started off well.
“You can’t bring players in for the sake of it, they have got to be right on and off the pitch. I’m pleasantly surprised that Newcastle have managed to attract him because he helped Atletico Madrid win La Liga last season.
“We will now have to wait to see who joins him, but it’s not a bad opening statement of intent. Brian was brilliant. “Whenever Kevin is asked at talk-ins who was our best signing he always comes out
with the first – Brian Kilcline. He was a leader of men and the catalyst for others to follow him.
“You’ve got to get it right with your first signings and almost 30 years ago we did just that. Let’s hope that history will repeat itself.”
With skipper Kilcline at the heart of defence, Newcastle secured their place in the old Division Two on the last day of the season. Other arrivals followed, including Andy Cole, Rob Lee, Paul Bracewell and John Beresford, as the Magpies won promotion the next season to the Premier League.
Anxious fans will be hoping that, like Kilcline, England right-back Trippier can act as a footballing Pied Piper, paving the way for other big names to follow him.
Bounce
Under former owner Mike Ashley, Howe’s predecessor Steve Bruce couldn’t even afford the loan fee – believed to be less than £1million – to bring in Leicester midfielder Hamza Choudhury last summer.
Now bigger investment in players has been promised and the £12m fee – rising to a possible £16m – for Trippier is the start. Alan Shearer, whose £15m move to Newcastle during the Keegan era smashed the world record transfer fee stated: “For too long there’s been no investment in the club.
“The owners have to get in four or five players minimum if they want to avoid relegation.”
Lee Clark, also part of the Keegan era, added: “We need players who are up for the fight like Brian Kilcline. He was a leader who grabbed people by the scruff of the neck.”
Another Toon legend, Peru international Nobby Solano, said: “It would be great to think that Newcastle can land a bunch of superheroes to fly in and save the day.
“But what we need now are players who understand the club and the situation we’re in. I certainly think Kieran Trippier is one of those.”