Kieran Trippier chose to leave Tottenham Hotspur in 2019 – and Gareth Southgate thinks the move has made him a different player.
Trippier had just lost the Champions League final with Spurs, and chose to leave the club for a move to Spain with Atletico Madrid.
In truth, Spurs haven’t really managed to replace Trippier in that right back spot, but he has gone on to big things with Atleti.
Trippier now a title winner after Tottenham exit
This past season, Trippier won the La Liga title with Atletico, playing an important role for Diego Simeone’s side.
With six assists in 28 games, Trippier was a key man for Atletico, and he will now be looking to win the European Championships with England.
Trippier just as important for England
Gareth Southgate has a host of right backs to pick from, but placed Trippier at left back in Sunday’s 1-0 win over Croatia.
Trippier was solid and dependable, though there may be some concern that him coming back onto his right foot will hamper England’s attack.
Trippier is likely to start against Scotland on Friday regardless, and boss Southgate has raved about the 30-year-old.
Southgate has told The Guardian that that he thinks Trippier is underestimated because people still see him as the player he was at Tottenham, but he has become a different ‘animal’ since leaving Spurs to play for Atleti.
“What Kieran has, firstly, is hugely underestimated,” Southgate said. “People are still seeing the lad that was at Spurs a couple of years ago and not the defensive animal that has grown at Atlético Madrid, trusted by one of the best and most successful coaches in the world.”
“He gets his distances right on cover, he’s good one-v-one to stop crosses and his talking is really good. There was always going to be changes to our back four and we felt that communication and organisation was an important part,” he added.
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