Newcastle United's season has not gone off without a hitch, but the quality and potential within Eddie Howe's blooming side is crystal clear, summed up in the recent drubbing of Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.
8-0. A record-equalling victory in the top-flight for the Tyneside club (the other match, interestingly, came against the Blades' city rivals Sheffield Wednesday in 1999), Newcastle can delight in the incisiveness and ruthless edge to their efforts, exactly what is needed for a side pushing for Champions League qualification once again.
Indeed, the Magpies defied expectations last season by finishing in fourth place in the Premier League, transferring some fine form from the 2021/22 season – form that ensued from the PIF takeover and Howe's subsequent appointment – and making it something lasting, tangible.
Where once the devout Newcastle faithful hoped for a sustained spot away from the jaws of relegation from the top flight and pushed for a bit more ambition on the transfer front, their stoical support has been duly rewarded with a war chest fit to serve an outfit at the very forefront of the game.
Now within Champions League competition and boasting a squad fit for purpose in Europe's elite club competition, Howe deserves all the plaudits for the work that he has forged at St. James' Park, making good use of supplies and investing in players who would fight for the badge and contribute toward the revival.
Who better to typify this than captain Kieran Trippier, with the veteran right-back joining from the genesis of the creation of this new-look Newcastle side and serving with aplomb, paramount to the rise.
Against Sheffield United, he became the first Magpie to bag a hat-trick of assists since Allan Saint-Maximin against Bournemouth in 2020, but then this is just one – admittedly sensational – performance from a player who has already etched his name into the record books for his role in rebuilding a football club desperate for an escape from obscurity.
How much did Newcastle sign Kieran Trippier for?
In October 2021, Mike Ashley's tyrannical reign of Newcastle came to an end. One month later, Howe was appointed in the managerial role, replacing Steve Bruce.
As the Magpies made merry and the brilliant red of the carpets rolled from St. James' Park, welcoming a new era and a clean slate, glimmering in the Tyneside sunlight after years of hurt, the club still languished at their nadir in the Premier League, but a revitalised strategy and some astute business on the transfer front worked wonders for an outfit targetting a renaissance.
Howe had the plan, but he needed the tools to rebuild the outfit and was granted a significant pool of expenditure to set his idea into motion, and the moves made in January 2022 proved to catalyse Newcastle's hopes for an illustrious new chapter.
Bruno Guimaraes
£40m
Chris Wood
£25m
Dan Burn
£13m
Kieran Trippier
£12m
Matt Targett
Loan
Some standout names in there that play a big role at the club to this day, but none more so than the cheapest permanent signing of that decisive winter transfer market, with diminutive right-back Trippier embodying everything that Howe has striven to achieve since taking the helm at the Toon.
Trippier, a £12m acquisition, had played the lion's share of his career in his English homeland but was actually signed for Newcastle from Spanish side Atletico Madrid.
The dynamo had made 86 appearances across two-and-a-half seasons in LaLiga, registering 11 assists and playing a key role in winning the 2020/21 LaLiga title – his only major honour to date – and was heralded for his "very important" standing in the squad by Atletico manager Diego Simeone.
While there were murmurings from certain segments of rival fanbases that he was moving to Newcastle for a big payday in the later phase of his career, he has quashed such ludicrous claims with a staunch devotion to the rise of this exciting side, and he has arguably been their most important player.
How good is Kieran Trippier?
The 43-cap England international is a distinguished presence down the right flank and a proven force as one of the most creative and influential in his position.
As per FBref, he ranks among the top 6% of full-backs across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for assists, the top 1% for shot-creating actions, the top 5% for passes attempted and the top 2% for progressive passes per 90, evidently a playmaker with an "elite output", as praised by Statman Dave on Twitter.
Having now completed 60 matches, scoring three goals and providing 13 assists, the £120k-per-week phenom has been hailed as a "revelation" by talkSPORT's Simon Jordan, and there is no question that the side's ascendancy might not have been quite so profound had he not been signed.
Boasting commanding leadership qualities to blend with his talent and technicality on the pitch, Trippier has been integral and actually earned an impressive average Sofascore rating of 7.61 in the Premier League last term, keeping 14 clean sheets, making 1.9 tackles and two clearances per outing, creating 2.9 key passes per game and succeeding with 60% of his attempted dribbles.
So much so, that perhaps he has had an even greater impact than Bruno Guimaraes, who has recently penned a lucrative new contract with the Tyneside outfit after arriving in the same month as his English peer.
The Brazilian has been a "world-class" addition to Newcastle's squad, as has been said by Dan Burn, and is undoubtedly one of the most technically proficient midfielders in the Premier League.
Having forged 40 displays last term and started every match so far this season, the 25-year-old ranks among the top 20% of midfielders for goals, the top 15% for assists, the top 19% for shot-creating actions, the top 16% for progressive passes and the top 13% for successful take-ons per 90.
He is undoubtedly a starring member of Howe's team, the orchestrator in the middle and the conduit between the thirds, but with Trippier's authority and dynamism, he might not be the man to have made the biggest impact, albeit he has been absolutely sensational.
Trippier is 33-years-old and ostensibly approaching the twilight of his career, but based on the evidence from his dismantling creative display against Sheffield United, he is still every bit the multi-functional phenom Newcastle signed to spearhead a way out of danger at the bottom of the division.
I'd say he's ticked all the boxes, wouldn't you?
