Watching Diego Simeone in full flow is a privilege, but there is only so much you can take from observing a couple of the Atletico Madrid boss' training sessions. What proved more significant during Eddie Howe's well-publicised fact-finding mission in Madrid in 2021 was the time the head coach and assistant Jason Tindall spent with Kieran Trippier, who was playing for the Spanish giants at the time.
Howe and Tindall had a longstanding relationship with Trippier from their spell at Burnley and the pair left the capital knowing that a return to England was something that was on the defender's mind. When Howe and Tindall rocked up at Newcastle United a few weeks later, they quickly sounded out Trippier, who was open to the mid-season move despite the Magpies' dire situation in the relegation zone at the time.
It was rather fitting that Trippier was the first signing of this new era. To say the England international has been a transformative player, on and off the pitch, would be an understatement.
