A football finance expert says the reason Newcastle United got Kieran Trippier for a bargain price might be because Atletico Madrid needed to trim their wage bill.
Some green-eyed fans of rival Premier League teams have been wondering how Newcastle United agreed to sign the England international for the reported £12m with a potential more in add-ons.
Manchester United fans have been particularly aggrieved as their club had been trying to lure Trippier during summer, but were reportedly put off by a fee that was over £30m.
The £12m fee has caused even some Newcastle fans to raise their eyebrows, considering Trippier played for England last year and won La Liga with Atletico.
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However, Kieran Maguire, co-host of the Price of Football podcast and lecturer in football finance at the University of Liverpool, says Atletico probably needed to sell, but he also said the price was fair.
Maguire said: “He is into the last 18 months of his contract, Atletico are tied by La Liga's wage cap rules and have to get their wage total down from €190m to €172m.
“So [selling] Trippier would help as he is on a reasonable salary and he is 32 [years old] later this year.
“Put all that together and £12m is a fair price. Atletico only paid £20m for him from Spurs originally.”
The right-back was flown into Newcastle Airport today and was then taken to the training ground at Benton where he was due to have a medical. At the time of writing, his signing has not been officially announced by the club.
