Atletico Madrid sign Kieran Trippier away from Tottenham Hotspur

Atletico Madrid have officially completed a deal to sign fullback Kieran Trippier away from Tottenham Hotspur. The reported deal is for €25 million plus add-ons for the England international. 

Trippier was tipped to leave North London during the summer window, and he finally gets his move about a month before the beginning of the 2019-20 campaign. Trippier has been heavily linked with a move to either Napoli or Juventus in Serie A, but in the end he moves to Spain, where he should play a prominent role in Diego Simeone’s defensive-minded side.

This move won’t do much for those interested in soccer betting considering the addition of Trippier doesn’t necessarily impact Atletico’s title prospects, but it does add one more solid player to a team full of capable talent. Atletico will still enter the season as third-favourites to win the Spanish top flight behind reigning champions Barcelona and a revamped Real Madrid outfit.

Trippier arrived in Madrid on Wednesday, where he successfully completed a medical before signing his official contract with the club. The deal will keep him at the Wanda Metropolitano for the next three seasons. 

The 28-year-old began his career with the Manchester City youth academy before joining Burnley on a permanent basis in 2011. He had been loaned by City to Barnsley and Burnley before ultimately making the full-time switch to Turf Moor. Trippier made no first-team appearances with Manchester City before moving on. 

He helped Burnley secure promotion into the Premier League in 2014, but he moved away from the club after it was relegated back to the Championship after just one season. In the summer of 2015, he joined Spurs for about €3 million. Trippier was brought in to compete with Kyle Walker for the starting right back job under manager Mauricio Pochettino. The job was ultimately won by Walker, though, and Trippier didn’t make his first-team debut until just before Christmas of that season. 

In all, he scored 2 goals in 69 appearances for the club.

Trippier also played a crucial role in England’s run to a fourth-place finish at the 2018 World Cup. He scored his first goal for his country on July 11 of last year with a stunning free kick in an eventual 2-1 extra time loss to Croatia in the semifinals in Moscow. He was one of the outstanding performers for the Three Lions at the World Cup, and that showing played no small role in ultimately helping him secure this move to Atletico Madrid.

Trippier ultimately succeeded Walker as Pochettino’s first-choice right back after Walker moved to Manchester City in the summer of 2017. He also started Tottenham’s 2-0 loss at the hands of Liverpool in the Champions League final earlier this summer in what would be his final appearance in a Spurs shirt. 

Atletico finished second in La Liga last season behind champions Barcelona. Simeone’s side accrued 76 points in the league, which was 11 shy of the Catalan champions. However, the 29 goals conceded by Atletico were the fewest in the Spanish top division. 

Atletico have additional money to spend this summer following the high-profile transfer of Antoine Griezmann, who was recently announced by Barca. Barcelona reportedly paid €120 million just to trigger the Frenchman’s buyout clause. Atletico contended that Barcelona did not act properly in securing the signing, but the move went through, anyway. Greizmann wound up putting pen to paper on a five-year deal.