On the latest episode of the Beautiful Game podcast, former Spurs man Kieran Trippier appeared as a guest and discussed his time at the north London club.
The right-back left the Lilywhites to join Atletico Madrid last summer, having made 114 appearances during his time with the club; contributing two goals and 24 assists (per Transfermarkt). The England international featured on the latest episode of the Beautiful Game podcast, with one particular topic being former Spurs man Mousa Dembele.
Here’s what Trippier had to say about the Belgian midfielder, who is valued at £3.15 million (Transfermarkt):
“I feel like selling Mousa Dembele, for me, and you can ask anybody who’s played with him, he’s the best player I’ve ever played with, you just can’t replace him. We sold him in January.
“I personally feel like if we kept him for that extra five months and let him go on a free in the summer. We would have done a lot, lot better. Especially, I think would have won the final.”
TIF Thoughts…
It is perhaps unsurprising to hear Trippier speak so highly of Dembele when you consider the midfielder’s impressive average ratings during his time at the north London club.
However, it is also understandable why Spurs decided to cash in on the former Fulham man in January of last year, as he had been struggling with injury problems, and had averaged a disappointing 6.38 rating across his 10 appearances in the Premier League that season (per WhoScored), so you could argue he was no longer the player he once was.
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Despite this, Trippier clearly feels that it was a mistake to let the Belgian leave, and feels that he would have made a big difference in the 2-0 defeat against Liverpool in Madrid.