Kieran Trippier sparked further Newcastle United transfer speculation last week but head coach Eddie Howe has played down any exit talk.
Trippier is currently on holiday after helping England reach the Euro 2024 final and was spotted at Newcastle Airport on Friday afternoon checking into a flight to Dubai. The 33-year-old then posted a photo on Instagram with Al Ettifaq head of scouting Tom Spring at the Nobu Atlantis restaurant with the caption ‘good meeting’.
Spring has been at Al-Ettifaq with Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard since January having previously worked at AFC Bournemouth for six years as first-team recruitment and analyst scout while Howe was there.
Although Trippier is attracting strong interest from the Saudi Pro League this summer, Howe believes the ‘meeting’ wasn’t transfer-related.
Newcastle’s head coach said: “It is difficult for me to comment on. For Kieran he is on holiday and he is having down time after exploits with the national team. Yeah, he has total freedom to enjoy his holiday. The picture in question is a personal relationship, I don’t think it is related to any club.”
The 33-year-old is due to return for pre-season next week when the Magpies are back from their week-long tour of Tokyo. When asked if Trippier would return as planned, Howe replied: “Yeah absolutely.”
The Magpies rejected two advances from Bayern Munich in January with Trippier reaffirming his commitment to Newcastle in the month after.
Since then however, links to Saudi Arabia has rapidly emerged. Trippier turns 34 in September and his current contract is set to expire next summer.
