Home » Manchester United bid for Atletico Madrid’s Kieran Trippier hits stumbling block

Manchester United bid for Atletico Madrid’s Kieran Trippier hits stumbling block

by Scott Eckersley

The BBC’s Simon Stone has confirmed Manchester United’s interest in Atletico Madrid defender Kieran Trippier.

Trippier’s future has been subject to constant speculation over the past few weeks, with a slew of contradictory reports claiming that a deal is at various stages of completion.

While the BBC has backed up talk of United’s interest, they’ve also stated that the club won’t match Atletico’s hefty £35m valuation.

Reports about negotiations have been covered in detail here at The Peoples Person, as speculation has intensified over the past few days.

The first reports of bumps in the road were covered here just two days ago. As reported by SportWitness, the two clubs were said to be a hefty £17m apart in their valuations, with the Spanish side wanting almost the entire of Tripper’s £35m release fee paid in full.

Trippier himself appears to be confident that a deal will be struck, as he’s said to have told an inner circle of England players that he’s moving back to the UK.

He’s even rumoured to have started house-hunting in the North-West of England, which is widely accepted as a basic staple of the transfer-frenzy endgame.

If a compromise can be struck between the two clubs, there’s plenty to like about the proposed move.

For starters, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer needs quality backup for the overworked Aaron Wan-Bissaka. United’s current right-back has just enjoyed a good season, however, he played a whopping 54 games in all competitions and looked worryingly close to burnout by May.

With Diogo Dalot expected to stay in Milan and Ethan Laird not deemed ready for first-team action, Trippier would be an experienced and expansive alternative to the more defensive Wan-Bissaka.

And then there’s the ‘Telles-effect’. Everyone saw the improvement in Luke Shaw’s game with another player vying for his place. Shaw went on to have his best season in a red shirt, meaning the same type of progression could be expected of Wan-Bissaka with a player of Tripper’s quality breathing down his neck.

It’s the type of deal that makes sense and the BBC’s report shows that negotiations are ongoing. Negotiating Atletico down to a reasonable fee will determine whether Trippier’s house-hunting ends up being anything more than a few wasted nights on Zoopla.

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