Consistent Trippier proving why he is England's best right-back
Another week of Premier League action saw a familiar face in our team of the week, and no; it wasn’t Erling Haaland. Funnily enough after blanking in front of goal for the second time this season, Haaland didn’t make our team at all. One player who did was Kieran Trippier, who after our 10th Premier League team of the week of the season, has made 50% of our best XIs (5), more than any other player.
His performances have helped Newcastle up to sixth place going into the midweek fixtures, only four points off the top four, and with Reece James and Kyle Walker both sidelined, and Trent Alexander-Arnold enduring a questionable start to the season, how big a difference could Trippier make for England in the upcoming World Cup after his positive start to the domestic season?
Well, the first thing to note about Trippier is out of all of England’s options across the backline, particularly in that right-back position, is that he is probably the most versatile player. As well as being able to perform at both full-back and wing-back comfortably, he can also transfer this ability to either the left or right side of the pitch. He could even comfortably transition into midfield if needs be, since that is where he played during his time Manchester City’s youth sides, and an area where he has shown his quality in set piece taking, scoring England’s goal in their 2-1 defeat to Croatia in the 2018 World Cup semi-final, via a free kick and putting away his penalty in the shootout against Colombia in the last-16 of that same tournament.
Gareth Southgate is already facing a selection headache with a few of his players confirmed out or doubts for the World Cup next month, meaning the value of a player of Trippier’s calibre and versatility can’t be undervalued.
It’s not just the fact that he is a versatile player that should give him extra value, but the numbers behind his positive start to the season that help to highlight the brilliant job Trippier is doing both defensively and offensively across the pitch.
🤩 Kieran Trippier has now made 50% of the WhoScored Premier League Team of the Weeks. He's the only player to have made it 5 times so far.
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) October 17, 2022
😏 Yes, even more than a certain Norwegian striker pic.twitter.com/9l0ixSHiHq
Trippier has appeared in all of Newcastle’s 10 Premier League games so far this season and in that time, they have four clean sheets, a return that only Manchester City (5) can better. As well as this, they currently have the best defensive record in the league having only let in nine goals. With 11 tackles and 16 interceptions, the latter the ninth best in the league, he has played his part in keeping the Magpies solid at the back and for both stats, he ranks higher than his main competition for the right-back spot in Qatar, Alexander-Arnold.
Despite being played as a full-back, Trippier spends a lot of his time in the more offensive positions, winning possession for his team more in the midfield third than he has in any other area of the field (40), which also ranks as the fourth highest in the league.
In an attacking sense, he is for sure playing his part, contributing to two of his sides 17 goals with an assist and goal. In addition, he has created 22 chances in his 10 appearances; only Kevin De Bruyne (33) and Mohamed Salah (26) have created more this season. James (9) and Alexander-Arnold (14), meanwhile, have only created 23 goalscoring chances between them. A lot of these have come from crosses, too, as he averages 3.5 successful crosses per game, more than any other player in the league. For context, Alexander-Arnold ranks second, with 2.3, showing how key he is in the final third.
The former Spurs man was in the last Nations League squad for his country in September, but didn’t play, in a camp where England conceded four goals in two games. In the international break at the end of the season, Trippier played in two of four games against Germany and reigning European champions Italy, where the Three Lions only conceded one goal, while the other two games - both against Hungary - he didn’t take part in, and England conceded five times.
It is clear to see that Trippier has been having an influence on the domestic stage with Newcastle this season, being one of the key reasons behind their rise up the table, and so it would come as no surprise if he were to do the same on the international stage with England. This, however, comes down to Southgate putting his trust in a player who has proven before how important he can be to England getting results.
