Kieran Trippier reveals one of his key motives for leaving Spurs

Kieran Trippier has claimed that his departure from Tottenham Hotspur to join Atletico Madrid have improved his chances of representing England.

Tripper left North London in the summer when he completed a move to the La Liga side for a fee in the region of £20million (Independent).

The right-back was left out of Gareth Southgate’s UEFA Nations League squad after struggling with form in his final season at Tottenham.

Since leaving the club, Trippier has featured in three of England’s four European Championship qualifiers and revealed that one of the key drivers for deciding to leave was for the sake of his international future.

Trippier was named in Atletico’s starting eleven for their Champions League victory against Liverpool at Anfield on Wednesday night which saw the current holders join Spurs in being eliminated from the competition.

The 29-year-old put in a solid performance against the Premier League leaders and knows that the competition for the right-back position for the Three Lions is highly competitive with the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kyle Walker, Aaron Wan-Bissaka all battling with the former Spurs player.

He told the Evening Standard: “I knew when I left Tottenham and I hadn’t been picked for the Nations League last summer that I had to perform better.

“I’ve had plenty of chats about that with the staff at England. I want to play at the highest level for as long as I can in order to play for England. That’s my objective.

“There is no bigger moment for me than representing my country. I just need to perform well, I know what I need to do because there are so many right-backs now.

“There are about six right-backs – and they are all playing at the highest level. I just need to focus on myself.”

Keep up to date with all the latest Tottenham news and opinion by following SpursWeb’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

Have something to tell us about this article? Let us know