‘I’d stay put’: Kieran Trippier issues message to Tottenham-linked ‘big player’

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Kieran Trippier has urged reported Tottenham Hotspur target Dwight McNeil to consider his future carefully this summer and suggested that he’d “stay put if I was him”.

Spurs were said to be in the market for the highly rated Burnley winger in the January transfer window, according to The Guardian.

McNeil has been impressive for the Clarets over the past 18 months, making his breakthrough last season and establishing himself as a key member of Sean Dyche’s team this term.

The 20-year-old has made 58 competitive appearances to date for Burnley, scoring five goals and registering 10 assists.

Tottenham aren’t the only team said to be interested in McNeil, however – Everton, Wolves, Leicester City (TEAMtalk), Manchester United and Juventus (Lancs Live) have also been linked.

Trippier, meanwhile, swapped Burnley for Spurs in 2015 and spent four years at the North London club before joining Atletico Madrid last summer.

The England full-back urged McNeil not to “rush anything, just keep playing”, going on to tell the Burnley Express: “Sometimes it can be difficult when you go to another club. I’ve experienced it. I went to Tottenham and I didn’t play for months and you get frustrated.

“For somebody like him, who is doing really well, why would you move now? There’s no point. Just keep performing well on the biggest stage and stay put. I was in a different situation to him, I’d just been relegated so I needed to go to a Premier League club.

“He’s playing well week in week out for a Premier League club. He’s a big player for Burnley. I’d stay put if I was him and keep enjoying his football.”

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An old-school winger with a superb left foot capable of powerful shots and pinpoint crosses, as well as a great engine, it’s little surprise that McNeil – described as “fantastic” and a “real talent” by Dyche (Lancashire Telegraph) – is being linked with other clubs.

Trippier is right in one sense – McNeil is doing well at an established Premier League club, and if he’s enjoying his football and everything else linked to being at Burnley, there isn’t really a need to leave.

On the other hand, a player like McNeil has the potential to be turning out for one of the nation’s big clubs, whether Tottenham or somewhere else, so he’s got to bear that in mind at some point and perhaps step out of his comfort zone for the sake of ambition.