‘Game changer’… Alan Shearer believes £12m Newcastle player has been ‘magnificent’ until recently

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Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer believes one Toon player had an incredible 2023 – until the final few weeks of the year.

Alan Shearer has been full of praise for Kieran Trippier, who ended 2023 in a poor run of form after previously being one of Newcastle United’s best players.

Shearer spoke about the £12million man on the latest episode of The Rest Is Football podcast, where they nominated Trippier for defender of the year. They did not give the honour to Trippier though, with Manchester City’s Kyle Walker coming out on top.

But they still recognised what an incredible year Trippier had in black and white, and Shearer was quick to focus on the impact he has had on Tyneside despite his recent struggles.

Alan Shearer defends ‘absolutely magnificent’ Kieran Trippier

On the latest episode of The Rest Is Football podcast, Shearer praised Trippier for an ‘absolutely magnificent’ 2023 as a Newcastle United player.

“He’s been absolutely magnificent for Newcastle, other than the last four or five weeks,” he said.

“He has made errors which he hasn’t made at all at Newcastle. He is going through a tough spell but everyone has them and that shouldn’t take away anything that he has done for Newcastle because from the moment he stepped foot in St James’ Park he has just been a game changer.

“Everyone looked up to him, he was a captain and a leader, he was just brilliant – defensively and attacking wise.”

Newcastle defender knows he needs to improve after tough end to 2023

Ignoring the final few weeks, it truly was an incredible year for Trippier. He played arguably the best football of his career, helping Newcastle into the Champions League and then excelling against the likes of PSG and AC Milan.

It was only December when Trippier dipped. Mistakes crept into his game, and sadly they were very costly. His errors led to defeat against Everton, while they also resulted in Newcastle being dumped out of the Carabao Cup.

The 33-year-old has admitted that he has not been good enough, and hopefully we see him return to his best in 2024.

When that happens remains to be seen, as Newcastle are currently sweating on his fitness. Trippier missed the defeat to Liverpool on January 1st, and it is unclear whether he will be ready to face Sunderland in the FA Cup on Saturday.