Kieran Tripper’s son ‘obsessed with Mbappe’ and wants to walk with him as mascot
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Newcastle defender Kieran Trippier has revealed that his young son is desperate to walk out with Kylian Mbappe as a mascot when the Magpies face Paris Saint-Germain. Champions League football will finally return to St James’ Park on Wednesday night when Newcastle go up against the French champions in their second group stage match.
Trippier will need to put in a solid performance to give Newcastle the best chance of victory, with the England defender set to be pitted against Mbappe as his opposite number. It seems as though he will not have the backing of his son, though, after explaining in Tuesday’s press conference that his boy’s loyalties will be split with Mbappe.
“My little boy wants to walk out the tunnel with him instead of me tomorrow night,” said Trippier. “He’s obsessed with Mbappe, always watching clips of him on YouTube. I told him if you get to walk out with him, don’t look at me in the tunnel.”
Trippier has already come up against Mbappe on a number of occasions and previously kept him quiet in Tottenham’s win over Monaco back in 2015. He will be hoping for a repeat performance when Newcastle host PSG on Wednesday night in order to help secure a famous victory under the lights on Tyneside.
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Eddie Howe is not expecting Trippier to deal with Mbappe on his own, though, insisting on Tuesday that a huge team effort will be needed to stifle the Frenchman’s imperious attacking threat.
“It’s very difficult to combat him,” said Howe. “Our defensive record has been strong, our team performance has been strong. It’s never down to one player. I don’t believe in man-marking. We need to do well in our units, nullify the space and hopefully keep the best player in the world quiet.”
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Trippier agreed that while it will certainly be difficult to stop Mbappe in his tracks, there is no fear around the Newcastle squad as they prepare to embark on their biggest test yet as a group.
“This is football. this is the level you want to play at,” he added. “You want to be against the best players and the best teams. Paris have got unbelievable players. Mbappe is one of the best in the world but they’ve got quality all over the pitch, [but] on our day we can hurt anyone.
“I’ve played against him on his debut for Monaco when I was at Spurs. I played against him for England on my debut quite a few years ago. He’s a fantastic player. You want to play against the best in the world. It will be a great occasion for the club and it’s a game we think we can win.”
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