Newcastle: £12m star 'acting like a captain' at St James' Park

Newcastle United defender Kieran Trippier has been acting like a captain off the field, Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie has revealed.

The 31-year-old has been out of action since breaking a bone in his foot last month but still seems to be playing a part in his side’s relegation fight.

Excellently. Trippier did not disappoint in the games he played following his £12m move from Atletico Madrid in January.

In the four league fixtures he was able to feature in, Newcastle won three of them, with the English full-back managing to score twice in victories over Aston Villa and relegation rivals Everton.

Eddie Howe would not have wanted to lose a player of his quality, especially so soon after his arrival. However, in his absence, the Magpies have coped just fine.

Since Trippier has been out, they have only lost once, a 1-0 defeat against European champions Chelsea, and have climbed all the way into 14th.

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While Trippier has not been able to make an impact on the pitch recently, Downie has told GIVEMESPORT that he has certainly been making one off of it.

Speaking to GMS, the Sky Sports journalist said: “He’s acting like a captain off the field. He was acting like a captain when he was playing even though, of course, Jamaal Lascelles is the captain.

“I think the two free kicks, you know, the winner against Villa and it was essentially the game clincher against Everton as well, have won Newcastle six points.”

Unfortunately for Howe and Newcastle, it looks like they could be without Trippier for the rest of the season.

When speaking about the injury the 35-cap England international picked up, Howe told Sky Sports and other outlets: