England defender Kieran Trippier is poised for his medical at Newcastle United on Wednesday as the Magpies gear themselves for their January rescue plans.
It was reported in Spain that the full-back did not train with his teammates on Tuesday as Trippier will be traveling to Tyneside after the 31-year-old had played in Atletico’s 2-0 La Liga victory over Rayo Vallecano on Sunday and applauded fans at the end of the game who watched him help the club claim their first league title in seven years last season.
Trippier had moved to the Madrid club from Tottenham for £20 million ($27m) in July 2019 and has made 83 appearances since and Newcastle are eager to get him to swap La Liga football for a new challenge in England.
Should the deal go through – and no reasons for it not to so far – this would then be the second time Eddie Howe has signed Trippier, having also taken him to Burnley in 2011.
Amanda Staveley’s Newcastle consortium, which is controlversially driven by Saudi’s Public Investment Fund, has embarked upon an aggressive recruitment drive aimed both at preserving the club’s Premier League status and providing a foundation for future success.
However, the immediate task of luring the players they urgently need to the north-east may yet prove to be a daunting one with the threat of relegation looming menacingly despite their new-found spending power exciting fans.
Howe’s side are currently one place from the bottom of the table having collected only 11 points from their first 19 games, with Norwich, Burnley and Watford also scrapping it out in a survival battle.
The Magpies have drawn up an extensive list of January targets, also being linked with Burnley defender James Tarkowski, Juventus midfielder Aaron Ramsey and Zenit St Petersburg striker Sardar Azmoun.