Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has spoken of the importance of chasing off Bayern Munich’s interest in Kieran Trippier.
The German giants twice registered bids for the full-back and tried to tempt him to the Bundesliga to linke up with his close pal Harry Kane. But Howe put the block on the offers for his prized right-back and feels the decision is now very much paying off.
Trippier’s presence has been key during the club’s Carabao Cup final victory over Liverpool and his experience is set to be vital for the Champions League run-in. Howe said: “I don’t think there was any big PSR benefit to selling Kieran and I think that was factored into a lot of our decision making.
“From a football perspective there was no way we wanted to lose him. He was too important, he remains too important. On various levels. We need his winning mentality, his experience, his quality.”
The retired England full-back has now started the last four matches and with Lewis Hall injured, Tino Livramento has moved the opposite flank. Howe said: “Kieran handled himself impeccably. He trained really well, supported the players and you can see that shouting on the touchline is genuine. He want to help people, he wants to help the team to win. He’s very selfless. ”
Trippier is expected to keep his place in the starting line-up for tonight’s Premier League game at Leicester City, provided he has shaken off the issue which forced him off early in the 2-1 victory over Brentford. The defender had reported ‘cramp-like’ problems with Trippier assessed over the weekend, along with Alexander Isak, Joelinton and Anthony Gordon.
