Tottenham Hotspur have started their campaign with six points from two matches, but their performances have left a lot to be desired. Mauricio Pochettino opted to start with Serge Aurier against Newcastle United in their hard-fought 2-1 opening day victory away at St. James Park. However, the Argentine boss decided to start Kieran Trippier last weekend and it paid dividends as the English full-back turned out to be the match-winner when he broke the deadlock in the 74th minute courtesy of his excellent freekick.
A dead-ball specialist with an ability to tirelessly run down the right channel and put in good crosses inside the opposition box, Trippier offers a lot more at both ends of the field when compared to Aurier. So the real question is whether he should start on a weekly basis in the Tottenham first-team or if Pochettino should continue rotating his squad to keep all of his players happy.
Trippier had a terrific 2018 FIFA World Cup campaign with Gareth Southgate’s English national team as he helped the Three Lions claim a fourth-placed finish in the competition. However, they suffered the heartbreak of being eliminated by Croatia after extra-time at the semi-final stage which would be a bitter pill to swallow for Trippier and co. going forward.
The experience of playing at the highest level will help the 27-year-old develop into an even better player which Spurs can benefit from in the coming years. The Bury-born sensation came through the youth ranks of Manchester City before having loan spells at Barnsley and Burnley respectively. He finally sealed a permanent move to Turf Moor at the start of 2012 and made 185 appearances for the Clarets during his career.
Tottenham scouts soon spotted his talents, and the North Londoners snapped him up in the summer of 2015. He has since then been a critical figure in Pochettino’s set-up and has often impressed with his performances for Spurs. Now that Pochettino is getting the best out of Trippier, it is only fair to field him regularly in the starting XI while saving Aurier for the cup games.
The 27-year-old has already gotten off the mark in his first game of the season, and we can expect him to score even more goals for Spurs if he is handed more game time to showcase his talents. However, the competition for places is heating up at North London which would only be beneficial for Pochettino as he hopes to lead his team to some silverware this season.
