Kieran Trippier’s departure from Tottenham this summer was one of the more eye-raising deals of the summer as the England international made the switch from London to Madrid to join Atletico, and the defender’s recent comments on the move should be a cause of concern for Spurs.
Indeed, the right-back endured a poor 2018/19 season with Spurs as the defender admitted to BBC Sport on the back of a World Cup campaign with Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions side that saw Trippier seemingly assert himself as one of the top right-backs in world football as the 28-year-old delivered on the biggest stage of all in the game.
Trippier, who is valued on Transfermarkt at £31.5m, even admitted himself in a recent interview with The Telegraph that he had set the bar high for last season following his performances in Russia, and this knee-jerk reaction to sell the defender from Spurs due to one poor season means some players this year could be in danger of the same fate.
Of course, Spurs have started the season fairly poorly heading into the first international break of the campaign, with Mauricio Pochettino’s side losing to the likes of Newcastle and arguably finding themselves lucky to have escaped both Manchester City and Arsenal with a point.
Offloading players because of one poor season is not something we are used to from Spurs, and although you can argue that selling Trippier might have been a smart move to allow the likes of youngsters Juan Foyth and Kyle Walker-Peters to grow into the role, this new mentality could be trouble for some of Tottenham’s current players.
With Spurs already looking questionable this season coupled together with a small squad without major replacements for some key players in the team as well as a handful of names already looking for moves away, Tottenham’s once-promising future could revert into darkness, and Trippier’s comments don’t help the situation.