Newcastle United face a big task of replacing Kieran Trippier ahead of next season, with the veteran full-back moving on to pastures new at the end of the current campaign.
The 35-year-old recently spoke with Eddie Howe and informed him of his decision to leave the club when his contract expires, which is going to leave a big void at the club.
Not only do Newcastle need to replace Trippier on the field, but the influence the former England star has behind the scenes cannot be underestimated.
Howe said on Friday that Trippier is one of the best players he’s ever worked with, and he’s certainly been one of the best signings our club has ever made.
We must move on, though, and Newcastle had recently been linked with an interest in Dutch defender Denzel Dumfries from Inter Milan.
Rumours were that the 28-year-old could be moved on by the Italians in the summer after an injury-ravaged season, but now the player himself has spoken to InterNews where he’s poured plenty of cold water on the idea, hinting that he’s ready to stay at Inter beyond the season.
“I have never had a physical problem like this in my career. It was difficult because I needed surgery. But now I am very positive looking at the end of the season.
“We must win every match to win the Scudetto, that is our objective. Against Roma we played a great game. Now we have an important game at Como where we must win while playing well.
“I don’t look at Napoli or the other teams, only at Inter. We must work. Every game is a final. We want to win both trophies. I am very happy at Inter, it is like a family. My only thought is on winning trophies.”
Dumfries doesn’t completely rule out a summer move, but he does sound very content at Inter, and given he is contracted until 2028, it could be very difficult to prise him away.
We said before that we’d love to see Dumfries at Newcastle. He is the ideal type of full-back we need. While he’s technically a very different player from Trippier, he could fill the void well.
A fee of £25 million has been mooted already, and we’d happily see the club pay that to bring him to Tyneside, but whether the club will see that as good value given his age and injury problems this season, we’re not so sure.
Rumour Rating: 5/10 – The needle hasn’t moved. It could still go either way. The rumour is gathering pace, but Dumfries’ own words prevent the score from going up since the last rating.