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Tottenham need to get rid of Kieran Trippier this summer

By Rucker Haringey

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 14: Kieran Trippier of Tottenham Hotspur tackles Leroy Sane of Manchester City during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City at Wembley Stadium on April 14, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 14: Kieran Trippier of Tottenham Hotspur tackles Leroy Sane of Manchester City during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City at Wembley Stadium on April 14, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) /
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Tottenham must do better at right back

For the record, this piece is not a knee jerk reaction to Tottenham’s 3-1 loss against Manchester City on Saturday. The evidence that Kieran Trippier isn’t good enough to be Spurs’ starting right back has been mounting all season long. Daniel Levy and company simply must get rid of the utterly average right back this summer.

Part of me feels bad slating a player that clearly gives it his all on the pitch. I have no qualms with Trippier’s effort level. The Englishman certainly gives the club everything he has in terms of heart, playing for the badge and all of those sorts of things.

Unfortunately, maximum effort level isn’t enough if you don’t have enough talent to be a top flight fullback. That’s precisely the predicament Trippier finds himself in. He just isn’t blessed with the athleticism or God-given talent to help Mauricio Pochettino take Tottenham to the promised land.

The Manchester City match did lay Trippier’s inadequacies bare for all to see. On one end of the pitch, he was hopelessly overmatched by Leroy Sane. The City attacker blew by him on numerous occasions. Trippier’s only hope to contain the talented wide man was to grab his jersey or try to block him with his body.

Happy clapping Spurs fans will correctly point out that Sane is one of the most talented attackers in Europe. What’s your point? If Tottenham are going to become legitimate Premier League title contenders then Sane is exactly the sort of player they will have to contain. Manchester City, after all, will likely enter next season as the title favourites.

Sadly for Trippier, his ineptitude against City didn’t end there. On the other side of the pitch, former Spurs star Kyle Walker ran up and down the pitch like a gazelle. In many ways he is the complete opposite of Trippier. Walker isn’t the most skilled footballer on the planet, but he might be the best pure athlete in the Premier League.

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The list of athletic competitions where Trippier could reasonably be expected to compete with Walker is quite short. Perhaps he’s a better golfer or darts player. Anything requiring speed, size, strength or athleticism would surely go Walker’s way.

The natural question is what Tottenham should do at the right back position. Fortunately, Pochettino has two more athletic options at his disposal. Spurs could look to replace Trippier in the transfer market, but purchasing a new right back wouldn’t be a total necessity.

Serge Aurier and Kyle Walker-Peters both deserve the opportunity to stake their claim to the right back position. More likely, each Spurs star will get their chance to seize one half of Pochettino’s right back rotation. The Argentine gaffer requires so much effort from his fullbacks that playing two significant match time is a practical requirement for Tottenham.

Next: Tottenham fans are starting to turn on Alderweireld

We can, and will, argue the potential merits of Aurier and Walker-Peters another time. The point of this piece is that we’ve seen enough of Kieran Trippier to know he isn’t good enough. He is an above average Premier League fullback playing for a club that is trying to be truly great.

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