'I'm sure' - Kieran Trippier set for talks as key Newcastle United appointment close
Kieran Trippier will leave Newcastle United in June 2026 - as it stands.
Eddie Howe says Kieran Trippier’s future at Newcastle United will be in the hands of the new sporting director.
Trippier was the first player to sign for Newcastle following the £305million takeover by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia in October 2021.
He joined from Atletico Madrid in January 2022 and in his near four years has helped the Magpies twice qualify for the Champions League, as well as being part of the starting XI that beat Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final, a 2-1 victory that ended the club’s 70-year domestic trophy drought.
Kieran Trippier into the final year of his Newcastle United contract
But this season could be Trippier’s last in black and white, with his current contract set to expire in June 2026.
Trippier turned 35 last month and hasn’t been short of interest from elsewhere after holding talks with Monaco in the summer.
Howe has always fought to keep Trippier, especially in January last year when United rejected a £12m bid from Bayern Munich. The United boss will likely make a case to keep the right-back but it is something an incoming sporting director “will be on top of”.
“Kieran’s a very, very experienced and important player for us,” said Howe. “His contract length will be something, I’m sure, that an incoming sporting director will be on top of.
“For me, at the moment, with the games that we have, contract lengths of players take less importance. It’s more about making sure we focus on the games. But these things will be taken care of by the club, I’m sure.”
Nottingham Forest chief leading candidate for NUFC sporting director role
NewcastleWorld understands there is an internal belief that the appointment of a new sporting director is only a matter of weeks away. As widely reported already, Nottingham Forest chief football officer Ross Wilson is said to be the leading candidate for the role.
Howe said: “I'm desperate for a sporting director because the way the modern football club works, I think you need that person, the expertise, the person that's going to lead the club in all sorts of different ways, whether that's the academy, transfers.
“It's a never-ending network now that the sporting director has to navigate his way through. So it's an absolutely pivotal position.
“I had a very good relationship with Dan Ashworth, a very good relationship with Richard Hughes at Bournemouth for many years, so we need the position filled but ideally with the right man, the man that can lead the club forward in many different ways and to a very successful era.
“So no, I'm fully supportive of the position.”