Is Newcastle United's Kieran Trippier the best right-back in Europe right now? England star's strengths analysed

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What a season it's proving to be for Newcastle United and their fans. 

Currently sat in third spot in the Premier League standings and with a potential Carabao Cup final on the horizon if they can get past Southampton, their success so far has been largely built upon a rock solid defence. 

In fact, the Magpies have now kept ten clean sheets across their last 11 competitive outings, a testament to the strong structure that manager Eddie Howe has managed to assemble during his still relatively short tenure on Tyneside. 

Dan Burn and Sven Botman have been fantastic acquisitions in that area but the Magpies' best has arguably come in the form of full-back Kieran Trippier who has spearheaded Newcastle's dramatic move up the top-flight standings. 

MORE: Last time Newcastle won a trophy: List of titles in Magpies history as they chase Carabao Cup 2023

Chance creating maestro at full-back

As we know, full-backs in modern football have to be as adapted to get forward up the wing to help their side offensively as they need to be solid defensively.

That's an aspect of Trippier's game where he absolutely excels, perhaps more so than most current right-backs across Europe's top five leagues. 

Starting off looking at his attacking output vs. others in the Premier League alone, the 32-year-old is putting up serious numbers against all players in the league, not just other full-backs. 

Ahead of matchday 22 in England's top-flight, only Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne has created more chances for his teammates (63) than Newcastle's Trippier on 59. 

That's only accumulated in four assists in the league so far this season however, despite Trippier recording an expected assist figure of 6.6, though the return of elite forward Alexander Isak from injury may boost his tally going forward. Newcastle's six goals from set pieces this league campaign have also all come via Trippier's delivery, another area where he ranks highly against other players across Europe's top five leagues. 

Elsewhere, Trippier leads the way in the Premier League in terms of both successful crosses completed and passes played into the box, both by a long distance. 

His 82 successful crosses are the most of any player in the league and 30 more than Fulham's Andreas Pereira, who ranks in second spot. Trippier also leads the way across Europe's top five leagues by a substantial difference. 

His 285 passes played into the box is also the highest of any player across Europe's top five leagues and again, is a number substantially more than Kevin De Bruyne's 224 in second spot. 

What also goes under the radar is just how much the English full-back has helped to bring the most out of winger Miguel Almiron this season. Manager Eddie Howe rightly takes most of the plaudits in that department but Trippier compliments the Paraguayan international perfectly on the pitch, something that has contributed significantly to Almiron's nine-goal haul in the league this campaign. 

There are areas of weakness still but some could be excused given Newcastle's rigid shape this season in truth. 

One of those key ones comes with carrying the ball. That's because Trippier has only recorded 58 progressive carries of the ball which is a tally far behind other right-backs in the Premier League such as Ben White's 113. 

Attacking output not coming at the expense of defensive stability

This season through 20 Premier League matches, Newcastle have conceded just 11 times with Trippier playing a huge part in that solid backline. 

That tally of 11 is actually the sixth-fewest ever at this stage of a campaign in the competition's history. 

Despite his attacking output, Trippier doesn't give up on his defensive duties the same way that others can occasionally do across the Premier League. 

When ranked against his Newcastle teammates in the Premier League this campaign, Trippier ranks third for most duels won (92) which have come at a success rate of 55.76%. He also ranks second for most successful tackles made with 31 behind only Joelinton, second for interceptions with 26 and third for most blocks made with nine. 

Those figures also stack up well against other right-backs in the Premier League. 

If we take Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold and Arsenal's Ben White, the latter who has played very well this season when shifted to right-back, Trippier dominates both from a defensive stand point. 

Against both this season in the league, he's made more successful tackles, interceptions, blocks, won more duels overall and recorded more ball recoveries. 

He has however been dribbled past by opposing players on 24 occasions, substantially more than both White and Trent.

Regardless, Trippier is spearheading Newcastle's season, one which could down in history for the club. 

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Author(s)
Nathan Evans Photo

Nathan Evans is a data editor for The Sporting News.