According to The Daily Star, Southampton are lining up a £5m move to sign Tottenham Hotspur right-back Kieran Trippier. Big departures have taken place from the St. Mary’s Stadium this summer with Sadio Mane, Victor Wanyama, and Graziano Pelle while Ronald Koeman also moved to Everton after two successful years managing the Saints. Claude Puel was brought in to succeed the Dutch manager and the Saints’ activity in the market is likely to accelerate soon as the new manager assesses the squad he inherited.
Southampton have just signed two players since the summer transfer window opened with winger Nathan Redmond and midfielder Pierre-Emile Højbjerg. With Europa League football on the horizon next season, the South Coast club clearly need a few more additions to the squad bolstering the squad depth as well as quality.
Kieran Trippier was wanted by the Saints last summer also but they failed to beat Spurs for the signature of the full-back from Burnley. However, Trippier struggled for game time in his debut season at White Hart Lane and Southampton are looking to pounce on the opportunity and bag the signature of the 25-year-old.
On paper, Southampton have enough depth on the right-back position but the quality and consistency is missing big time. Cedric Soares, Southampton’s acquisition from Sporting Lisbon last summer, just won the European Championships with Portugal but was in and out of the side under Koeman. Cuco Martina’s future at the club is unclear, though.
Tripper would be a solid addition to the Saints who is capable enough to contend with Soares for a place in the first-team. The Englishman was mainly used as a cover for Kyle Walker last season and managed to get just five starts in the Premier League. In all competitions, Trippier made 19 appearances and in the process, he notched up one goal and three assists.
Trippier is a brilliant attacking full-back and fits what Puel wants from his full-backs. The French manager was successful at Nice using a 4-4-2 diamond formation and one of the keys to that success was full-backs bursting forward with pace to help out the attackers. Full-backs are the one who provide the width in Puel’s tactics and Tripper would flourish big time under the French manager thanks to his attacking duties.
The English full-back’s attacking prowess was clearly visible from his figures at Burnley. From 185 appearances for the Clarets, Tripper fired in six goals while registering as many as 37 assists which is remarkable. It would be one hell of a signing if Southampton can make Tripper trade the North London club for St. Mary’s.
