Newcastle United could be confident in their ability to fend off Bayern Munich’s interest in Kieran Trippier, the right-back has revealed, as he says he immediately rejected the Bundesliga giants’ advances.
Bayern made multiple bids to sign the 33-year-old, reportedly offering £13m for an initial loan. The move became one of the biggest stories of a quiet transfer window, but with Newcastle rebuffing their interest the saga ended abruptly when Bayern sporting director, Christoph Freund, said: “The Kieran Trippier issue is over. We only do what we are 100% convinced of.
“Only when it fits for us and the player and also for the club the player comes from. And that wasn’t the case.”
Now, however, Trippier has revealed he never had any intentions of leaving – despite being flattered by the interest.
"I told the manager straight away that I don't want to leave, I am committed here" 🤝Newcastle defender Kieran Trippier on Bayern Munich wanting to sign him during the January transfer window 👇 pic.twitter.com/P7RxcYuav9February 3, 2024
“I’m comfortable here [Newcastle], happy here,” he said. “I’ve got an unbelievable relationship with the manager, my teammates, and I’m committed to the club. I want to try and push the club even higher.
“It wasn’t really them [Newcastle] trying to force me to stay or try to do things for me to stay. I made it clear. I said to the manager straight away when I came back from holiday: ‘I’m committed here. I don’t want to leave and want to make it clear I never requested to leave. I want to try and give good performances on the pitch to push the club even higher up the table and help my teammates be successful.’
“The manager has never had an indication from me that I want to leave, neither have the owners. When the bids were going in I talked with the manager to say I want to stay; the manager knows how committed I am to stay with the owners and my teammates.”
Trippier added that he finds transfer headlines something of a distraction for him and the wider team. He explained: “I wanted the transfer window to shut, really, because I didn’t want it to have a negative effect on my teammates. Not just me being linked away but other players as well. Once the window shuts everyone can focus on their main objective, which is to finish the second half of the season strong.
“When a team like Bayern come in it takes you back a bit. I take it as a compliment at the age I’m at, and one of the biggest clubs in the world wants to sign you. All I can say is I take it as a compliment, but it wasn’t the right thing for me.”
Newcastle also rejected moves for Callum Wilson from Atletico Madrid, and retained Miguel Almiron’s services in the face of interest from Saudi Arabia.
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