With the January transfer window slowly edging towards a close, on Tuesday evening it was being reported that Newcastle United had now turned down a formal £12.8 million offer for England right back Kieran Trippier.
Having made his name at Burnley, the now 33 year old spent time at Tottenham Hotspur and Spanish side Atletico Madrid, before he arrived at St James’ Park back in January 2022. He was the clubs’ and manager Eddie Howe’s first signing following their Saudi Arabia backed takeover, and he has clocked up 62 Premier League appearances for them since then, and has also regularly captained the side during the 2023/24 campaign.
After the release of their last set of accounts, chief executive Darren Eales was open and honest that there may have to be sales to ensure the club comply with the Financial Fair Play rules, and that certainly help stoke the speculation on the rumour mill. A number of players have seen themselves linked with potential moves, including striker Callum Wilson who has seen links to Serie A side AC Milan, and winger Miguel Almiron is said to be a target for Saudi Pro League side Al-Shabab.
With plenty of speculation that German Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich are after a new right back this month, links with Trippier do certainly tick all the boxes and of course, there is a strong England and Tottenham connection here driving the rumours. Bayern’s purchase of Harry Kane, added to their capture of Erik Dier on a loan deal until the end of the current season, could mean the 46 capped international would be tempted to reunite with his former team mates.
Although Bayern’s current offer has been rejected, playing into the speculation is the fact that Newcastle are having a poor season based on their own expectations. They have been hit with some serious injury concerns during the campaign, and as I type, they have nine first team players out on the side lines, and they find themselves sat way back in tenth place in the table.
Although Bayer Leverkusen hold the advantage in the German top fight, Bayern are not far behind and Kane has certainly settled and is in a rich vein of scoring form, so as Trippier heads towards the end of his own career, a title tilt could be another potential pull.
We will have to see what the remainder of the month holds, but given the stability Trippier gives the Newcastle defence, there will be many fans who hope he has not had his head turned by the German giants.