Man Utd transfer target Trippier eyeing Premier League management career

Manchester United transfer target, Kieran Trippier, has revealed he would love a return to the Premier League before becoming a manager.

Trippier, 31, quit Tottenham to join Atletico Madrid in 2019 and has since won LaLiga and captained England.

But the Bury-born defender has recently been linked with a move back to the Premier League, with Manchester United reportedly his ideal destination.

Trippier’s stock has risen massively since leaving the Prem to play abroad after he played a vital part in Atletico’s title-winning side last season.

He started 28 times as Atletico won their first league title for seven years and has also become an integral part of Gareth Southgate’s England team.

Trippier views his risky move to the Spanish capital as a huge success, saying: “I know what I came here to do and I have done it.”

Before joining Atletico, Trippier spent four seasons at Spurs under manager Mauricio Pochettino, moving from his boyhood club Burnley in 2015 for just £3.5m.

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The 35-cap England international went on to help Spurs finish second in the Prem in 2016-17 and was also a runner-up in the Champions League final in 2018-19.

But his league triumph with Atletico was the first title of his professional career, after which he recalled: “The beers were flowing, everyone was singing.

“The gaffer was all over the place as well, he was buzzing. It was just an unbelievable feeling.

“I came here to try to achieve great things and I’d won the league. I just tried to take it all in.”

Speaking ahead of Atletico’s Champions League group stage clash with Liverpool tonight, Trippier looked back on last time the two giants clashed in Europe.

Atletico came out on top in a dramatic 3-2 victory after extra-time at Anfield to eliminate the Reds and Trippier played a vital role in helping his side to victory.

Trippier reflected: “It was strange night because I think they had about a hundred chances.

“I was speaking to some of the lads before the game because I wanted to let them know how intense it was going to be. When Liverpool play at home, it really is 100mph.

“What I found at Tottenham is if you stay in the game, then 50 or 60 minutes in, the gaps will open.”

But Trippier also looked back on the strange circumstances surrounding the game, which was his the last appearance in front of a crowd for several months due to covid-19.

He said: “Looking back now, I don’t think it should have gone ahead.

“I don’t mean this in a bad way but I was just focusing on the game. It’s after the match when I realised, ‘Yeah, this is getting out of control now’.”

He also revealed he is planning a move into coaching in the future and believes Atletico boss Diego Simeone has been the perfect tutor for him.

He said: “I’ve learned so much from him that will serve me as a player, or for when I move into a coaching career.

“I’ve learned a lot from all of them and this is something that I definitely want to do.

“Who knows, maybe further down the line I would like to be a manager. Who knows at the end of my career, I could play for Dyche again and get a coaching role with him.’

Trippier added that that would be the ‘perfect scenario’ and revealed: “I’m always on his case,” suggesting a move back to the Prem could be on the cards in the near future.

Trippier was heavily linked with a move to Manchester United last summer and freely admits: “I would love to play in the Premier League again.”

The move to Old Trafford ultimately fell through as Utd failed to meet Atletico’s asking price and decided to stick with Diogo Dalot as back-up for Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

The Red Devils had bid £18m for Trippier, but Atletico were holding out for almost double that, with Utd unwilling to pay Trippier’s full £34m release clause.

But Trippier’s open desire to return to the Prem will no doubt put many clubs on high-alert as the January transfer window approaches.

And reports suggest Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could turn to the LaLiga champion to help shore up his leaky backline, with Utd failing to keep a clean sheet in eight games straight.