‘Me or him’ – £12m Newcastle United star reveals how close he came to joining Liverpool

Trippier had helped Burnley to promotion from the Championship after scoring twice and making 14 assists in 41 league appearances and had impressed in his first full season in the Premier League.

The then 24-year-old had a £3.5million release clause in his contract at Burnley and several Premier League clubs were interested in pursuing a potential bargain.

"The year we got promoted I only had a year left on my contract and [Sean] Dyche [Burnley manager] wanted me to sign a new contract and have a release clause,” Trippier said. “So I thought it would make sense for me to play 38 games in the Premier League, get that experience if I did get that move.”

Tottenham Hotspur would ultimately win the race for Trippier’s signature ahead of the 2015-16 season with Everton and Liverpool also expressing a keen interest. And in Liverpool’s case it was a toss up between Trippier and Southampton right-back Nathaniel Clyne.

"The season after [Burnley] got promoted there were a few clubs interested,” Trippier said on the Undr the Cosh podcast. “Obviously Tottenham, Everton and Liverpool before they got Clyne as well, it was either going to be me or him to Liverpool.”

In the end, Liverpool went with Clyne as Trippier joined Spurs and eventually replaced Clyne in the England set-up. Trippier then joined Atletico Madrid in 2019 before completing a £12million switch to Newcastle United in January 2022.

In less than 12 months on Tyneside, Trippier has already established himself as a fan favourite.