Shay Given has now revealed who he thinks has been Newcastle United’s best signing under Eddie Howe in his punditry after the defeat to Chelsea last night.
Given was keen to make everyone aware just how good Kieran Trippier has been for Newcastle since he arrived from Atletico Madrid in January 2022, especially after his last few difficult performances.
Following last night’s game against Chelsea, Given was on punditry for Sky Sports where he was full of praise for the defender’s leadership and experience.
Given encourages fans to support Trippier
It was a tough night for Trippier who has now had a difficult few games and will certainly be struggling on the inside after making the mistake for Chelsea’s equaliser and missing a penalty in the shootout.
Since his return from international duty last month, from which he left early due to personal matters, the 33-year-old has looked distracted and off his game.
It’s not necessarily been a lack of fitness or poor quality in play, it just looks like Trippier has been distracted by something, but of course that is merely speculation.
Given has been very impressed with Trippier ever since making the move to Newcastle and is now encouraging Howe and his players to back the former Tottenham man and support him through this period.
“Since the takeover happened, since the new owners came in and since Eddie Howe came in, for me he has probably been the best signing. Both on the pitch and off the pitch.
“The leadership qualities he has for the team and all the stuff I know he does off the pitch for the club as well. It’s a couple of bad weeks. He knows that himself.
“He is an experienced player and has been captain for a part of that as well. He will get the support off the fans because they know they have a real quality player.”
Howe could rest Trippier for the Luton game
Howe is naturally a huge fan of Trippier and will support his player until the very end, but if that means resting him for Newcastle’s next Premier League match then he will have no issues in doing so.
As Given mentions, Trippier is a real leader on the pitch and a huge asset for Newcastle and while Howe may miss that on Saturday, it is not worth risking the right-back yet again after a tough few weeks.
The £12m signing was also unavailable against Fulham at the weekend through suspension, but it may just be that he needs to take a bit of time away from football to sort himself out before returning.
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