Trippier deal would be the ideal opening for a crucial window at St James’ Park
ENGLAND ACE ‘EXPECTED TO LEAVE’ ATLETICO
NEWCASTLE United have been holding talks to sign Kieran Trippier for a couple of months now and it’s fair to say the arrival of the England right-back would give Geordie fans the flying start they are praying for to the January window.
The talk in Madrid this week was that Trippier is “expected to leave” Atletico in January as Newcastle officials and his representatives work on personal terms, but there has been other interest in the defender – not least from Manchester United.
With transfer consultant Nicky Hammond on board, it’s understood that doors to other deals have been opened too but January is never an easy month – not even for those with money to spend. In fact, sometimes having a bulging wallet can attract the wrong type of company.
Eddie Howe has tried to manage expectations throughout the buildup to the winter window but that hasn’t stopped Newcastle being linked with dozens of players.
In fact, the moment Newcastle’s takeover was announced back in October, agents wanted to know who the go-to personnel were going to be in the new regime as they prepped their clients for January.
But just because Newcastle have money these days it doesn’t mean they are going to go mad in the window.
Yes they are equipped to improve the squad and the likelihood is they will, but those close to the club keep saying the same thing: “Don’t expect another Man City”.
Trippier would be good business and so would Lille’s Dutch star Sven Botman at £30m.
But his agent Muy Mareno is rightly asking the “what if” questions when it comes to Newcastle.
Currently sitting in the bottom three with one win to their name in the Premier League it’s a fair question, and while Newcastle boss Howe wanted a quick start to business, some agents may be inclined to wait until later in the window to see if United can climb out of the relegation zone. Moving to Newcastle is a risk for any player because they could be in the Championship sooner rather than later.
And that brings us neatly on to the subject of signing the right players with the right attitude.
Any player who feels that Newcastle can beat the drop this spring is worth having on board.
But it all makes the task a little harder going into the window because finding the right men for the job and who can handle the pressure of fending off relegation in less than half a season won’t be easy.
The last time Newcastle were threatened with relegation they signed Andros Townsend, Jonjo Shelvey (left) and Henri Saivet but they still went down.
Shelvey started well and faded, Saivet never got settled and set the tone for the rest of his career on Tyneside and Townsend made a decent fist of things before activating a relegation release clause.
Newcastle must get their window off to the right start and if they persuade Euro 2020 star Trippier to jump on board others should follow.