Eddie Howe disagrees with Kieran Trippier transfer claim after £12m Newcastle United bid

Newcastle United turned down the opportunity to make their money back on the 34-year-old by refusing bids as high as £12million - the fee they paid to sign him from Atletico Madrid in January 2022.

Trippier was the first signing of the PIF era and has proven to be a transformative one, with his first 18 months coinciding with the Magpies’ rise from battling Premier League relegation to qualifying for the Champions League.

However, the year 2024 has proven to be a frustrating one for the right-back. Since sustaining a calf injury at the beginning of March, Trippier has featured just 14 times in all competitions, only five of which have been starts.

After starting the 2024-25 campaign behind Tino Livramento, by October Trippier had won his place back in the starting XI but a hamstring issue picked up in a goalless draw at Everton on October 30 ruled him out for seven weeks.

The former Tottenham Hotspur man hasn’t started a match since. But when it was suggested to Howe that Trippier may look back at the Bayern Munich interest as a “big opportunity”, United’s boss said: “I don't think anything is as clear-cut as that. He's a very, very valuable member of the squad and really highly respected by all of us. He's an outstanding player.

“Now, he's just worked his way back from a couple of injuries that he's had, and he's, I would say, still working his way back to his absolute best fitness levels. I would say he's fit enough to play, no doubt about that, but he's still working his way back because he just hasn't had the football to underline those physical qualities.

“But there's no doubting... He's come on the pitch in the last few games and I think his technical quality has been very high as always, and that's what sets him apart.

“He's a very rare full-back, there are not many like him who can assist and create in the way that he does with both crosses and with long-range passing, so he's incredibly respected by us and wanted by us.

“I have no doubt that he could easily get back into the team and have a long run in the team. That's how good he is, so I don't see it quite like the question.”

Newcastle brought in Livramento as Trippier’s long-term replacement last year in a deal worth £32m from Southampton. Still only 22, the full-back made his England debut last month and is continuing to enjoy a regular run in the side.

“Yeah I thought Tino, in the last few games, has really played well,” Howe told NewcastleWorld. “Very, very pleased, especially Ipswich where I thought his technical delivery was a really high level. He was very good down the right-hand side with him and Jacob in tandem together. I always think relationships in the team are so important, you go back to a couple of years ago, the relationship between Kieran, Miggy, Jacob, Sean, they were very strong down the right-hand side for us and I think then through injury we had to find a couple new solutions down that side. It takes time to build those relationships but I think we've seen in recent weeks some really strong partnerships emerging. I'm really pleased with Tino's development and physically he's looked really good as well so very happy with him.