Former Tottenham defender Kieran Trippier has claimed that his game has improved considerably since he swapped North London for Atletico Madrid last summer.
The club decided to part ways with the 29-year-old last summer on the back of a poor season for the defender. Trippier himself admitted that he was far from happy with his performances at Spurs during the last campaign (Sky Sports).
However, the full-back has got a new lease of life since making the move to Spain. He has been involved fairly regularly for Diego Simeone’s side and has won back his place in the England squad.
The former Burnley man believes his positioning and reading of the game have improved vastly since he arrived in La Liga.
In an interview with BBC Sport, he said: “In the Premier League, I was too eager to get forward. I feel like here, my understanding of when to go forward, when to defend, my positioning, has been helped a lot.
“Obviously I can improve on my defending, which I need to do, and there’s no better place, no better club to put in the defensive work.
“It starts on the training field. Tactically the manager works with you individually and, for me, man-management is the most important thing and I think he’s unbelievable at that.”
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Trippier also revealed that he and his family were adapting well to life at Madrid and also made a rather pointed remark about the difference between his time in England with Spurs and now with Atletico.
He said: “It’s been amazing. My wife and two children are the most important thing to me, and also to make sure we found a place for them and for them to feel settled – and they have done, it’s made my life a lot easier.
“My Spanish is coming on. I understand a lot more than I can speak. I’ve got the right people around me who are helping me and the staff have been fantastic. It’s not going to be like a day to learn it, it’s going to be a process, but I’m excited.
“From day one in pre-season, to see how welcoming everybody is – the players, the staff – I knew straight away I would love it here. It’s just so connected, which is the most important thing to me.
“It is different. Being here, you can see how close everyone is, the staff with the players. Even the groundsman and security give you big hugs when you come in. Sometimes in England, I don’t think you have that.
“For the players who are not playing, you don’t see anyone disappointed here. In England, sometimes if a player is not playing, they can be angry – everyone wants to get picked – but here, it just shows how good the man-management is as everyone is laughing and joking and you don’t see anyone disappointed.”
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Some fans have suggested that perhaps letting Trippier leave in the summer wasn’t the wisest move given our lack of cover at right-back. However, I believe that the defender needed a fresh start and that the move suited all three parties. We now need to bring in a young full-back like Max Aarons in the summer to compete with Aurier.
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