"It would be a big risk" - Manchester United legend Gary Neville backs Gareth Southgate's bold comments about England star
Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville claims he cannot understand why people question Kieran Trippier's inclusion in the England squad.
The 32-year-old has been one of Gareth Southgate's most reliable performers during his time in charge of the Three Lions.
He scored a stunning free kick during England's 2018 World Cup semi-final against Croatia. The Newcastle star also scored a penalty in the shootout against Colombia earlier in the tournament.
Kieran Trippier 🖤🤍
#NUFC #NUFCFans https://t.co/Kg3PzKPvWW
Trippier also played a major role in his country's run to the European Championship final last summer, earning 37 caps in total.
With competition to play at right-back, including Kyle Walker, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Reece James, many have questioned why the Newcastle defender plays so often for his nation.
But former England right-back Neville doesn't understand the criticism of Trippier, as the Manchester United legend told Sky Sports (as per HITC Sport):
“You think about why Trippier gets in. People say ‘why does Trippier get in, we don’t need three right-backs. We don’t need four right-backs’. It’s because he scores from free-kicks. In the big games when it’s tight and there is a struggle. They are the defining moments."
He added:
“Gareth proved that in 2018 in Russia. I think it will be the same in Qatar, when those big moments will be determined by those penalties and free-kicks. To not have him there, it would be a big risk.”
Poor Reece James. Terrible news for the lad. But Kieran Trippier simply has to be an automatic starter for England now. twitter.com/bbcmotd/status…
Gary Neville hails Erik ten Hag's impact at Manchester United
Manchester United have endured a mixed start to the campaign but did win their most recent clash against Everton in the Premier League.
Neville believes Manchester United are improving under the Dutch boss, but warns that the upcoming schedule before the World Cup could be tricky.
The pundit told The Mail:
"I think the team are putting some movements together that look promising. When you look at the £1.3billion that has been spent, I still think 'I'm not looking at a £1.3bn team here.' But that's not Ten Hag, that has happened over the course of five, six, seven seasons."
He further continued:
"We are still not anywhere near City, obviously, but we have beat Liverpool and Arsenal and there is promise there. The next few weeks for Manchester United are tough. There are four to five tough games coming up that really will tell us where United are at in this first part of the season."
Erik ten Hag on Newcastle in the programme: ‘They’re right behind us in the table, they are unbeaten in four games, and have shown many times already this season that they have a lot of pace & ability on the counter-attack.’ #nufc https://t.co/aqOGgEFVGi
The former England right-back concluded:
"The big thing for me is - we've talked about the ownership and that needs to change and be dealt with - but the manager has settled in pretty well and there looks to be a togetherness with the players and manager."