Gone are the days of being linked with players that we have never heard of. Newcastle United are moving up in the world!
Two players who are widely believed to be leading targets this month are Lille’s Sven Botman and Atletico Madrid’s Kieran Trippier.
Both are fantastic footballers; one who operates as an extremely versatile and experienced international right back, the other a hugely promising young centre-back prospect who is being tipped to have a big future in the game.
To both, Newcastle United could be a fantastic opportunity.
Sven Botman, Centre Back, 21 Years Old , Lille, Netherlands
Any player who comes through the youth academy at Ajax (Jong Ajax) is always a serious football player who is always comfortable with the ball at his feet. This is something that Newcastle United desperately need. It is clear that Eddie Howe wants a player who is competent at defending , whilst possessing the ability to bring the ball out of defence and make a smoother transition into midfield. Botman could be the perfect answer to this remedy.
Botman is rated highly in European football, having already been linked with Tottenham, Atalanta and Wolves. It is only a matter of time before these links start to expand and materialise into formal interest.
Botman, a player who at the tender age of 21 already has Champions League experience and stands at 6ft 5. In Lille’s 2020/2021 season, no player under the age of 22 in the top European leagues played more minutes than the Dutchman. This optimises Botman’s consistency, reliability and how highly he is rated in French football. Although Botman is not blessed with explosive pace, he offers an extremely calming presence to the side he plays in. Botman ranks 8th in progressive passes in Ligue 1, offering the 3rd most touches and winning the 7th most aerial duels.
Most notably however, Botman possesses the 6th highest passes into the final third metric in his league, something that will aid Howe’s Magpies immensely considering the way that Eddie wants the Toon to play their football. At present, the Magpies lack a competent ball player in defence. Botman could aid this significantly and play a pivotal part in the Magpies football development for the foreseeable of his footballing career.
Evidently, Botman will always be a huge presence at the back of the Magpies defence, operating as a 6ft 5 centre-back, he should have no issue integrating into physicality of the Premier League – something of which some defenders can occasionally struggle with when coming from European football.
Kieran Trippier, Right Back, 31 Years Old , Atletico Madrid, English
Kieran Tripper, born in Bury , Greater Manchester , has witnessed a sharp rise in stock ever since joining Tottenham Hotspur in 2015. A player known for his fantastic set piece quality, astute tactical awareness (especially defensively) and ever improving leadership skills. Also let’s not forget THAT goal against Croatia a few years ago at the World Cup.
Trippier has become a prominent figure in Diego Simeone’s pragmatic Atletico Madrid side, who only conceded 25 goals in their title winning season of 2020/21. Trippier chipped in with 4 assists and most notably only had 2 yellow cards. Clearly, a fantastic disciplinary record considering the position that Trippier takes up Atletico’s system.
Since Simeone’s appointment at Atletico in 2011, he has implemented a systematic, well-organised 4-4-2, priding his teams on their defensive qualities, offering lethal and effective counter attacks in transition. The full-backs in Simeone’s system have become extremely important and Simeone stresses the importance of these in both defence and attack.
Trippier has added quality to Atletico’s set piece delivery, as whilst their cross per game is the 2nd lowest in the league (15 on average) , they still delivery an outstanding return on set piece goals (10 goals). Additionally, Trippier was 17th in the key passes per game metric, a pretty good return considering his position and company at the time. Moreover, in the 2020/21 season, Trippier ranked 2nd in Atletico’s progressive passing metric, 2nd only to Spain’s Koke.
Simeone has always been a huge admirer of Trippier, constantly praising his ‘quality and precision’ in both attack and defence. England manager Gareth Southgate is also a huge admirer of Trippier, made evident by the fact he started left back on a few occasions for England over the summer. A position he has never played at club level.
Trippier is sure to be a fantastic addition to the Magpies squad , adding defensive solidity whilst also adding to our set piece quality going forward.
In conclusion, The Toon’s interest in Trippier is not surprising. Especially considering his fantastic tactical understanding and defensive discipline – something that the Magpies desperately need in their fight against relegation.
