National team manager raves about £12m Newcastle player’s performance last night

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England manager Gareth Southgate was seriously impressed with Newcastle United defender Kieran Trippier last night.

Southgate was speaking to the press after England defeated fierce rivals Scotland 3-1 at Hampden Park.

It was a heated contest in Scotland with both teams looking to get one over their neighbours.

However, England showed their immense quality especially in the first half as they dominated proceedings.

Youngsters Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden impressed, both playing key parts in all three goals.

Gareth Southgate rotated his England side after their 1-1 draw with Ukraine and introduced Kieran Trippier to the team.

As he has done on many occasions on international duty, Trippier was played on the left with Kyle Walker starring on the right.

He put in another strong performance and showed that his versatility still makes him an important part of the Three Lions squad.

Southgate praises Trippier’s England performance

Speaking about the match, Southgate said: “We’re building all the time, we want to keep improving, we keep pushing the players.

“We’ve been able to experiment a bit this week as well with two new centre-backs who have come in who are relatively inexperienced and both have done really well.

“But, some of our senior players are just so influential. [Kyle] Walker and [Kieran] Trippier tonight were absolutely outstanding.

“The impact of our senior players on this group just can’t be underestimated.”

The £12m defender is a key part of Eddie Howe’s side and that makes him an easy selection for England whenever the international break comes around.

The 32-year-old is closing in on 50 caps which considering he’s primarily a right-back is a phenomenal achievement considering the competition he’s up against.

His work-rate is one of the strongest parts of his game, but he’s also brilliant going forward and in defensive situations.

Southgate has had to deal with plenty of injury issues at left-back for England, making Trippier an almost automatic choice in the squad.

Putting in performances like he did last night will only do him good with the European Championships just around the corner next summer.