Kieran Trippier has revealed that Newcastle United's owners plan to 'build' a side capable of one day winning the club's first ever Premier League title if the Magpies manage to stay up this season.
Newcastle were already in a relegation dogfight when the takeover was completed last October after the black-and-whites failed to win a game up to that point. However, one of the consortium's first major decisions, to appoint Eddie Howe as head coach, has since paid off alongside some shrewd recruitment in the mid-season window.
The hierarchy's aim this season was to simply stay up and, while there is work to do yet, Howe's side are on course to do just that after moving seven points clear of the relegation zone following a 2-1 win against Brighton last week. To put that turnaround into perspective, Newcastle were 11 points off their current position in 14th place as recently as mid-January.
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Going forward, the owners have never been shy about their long-term ambition - to win the title within five to 10 years - and the club's new signings have all spoken about the 'project' when discussing why they joined a side who were struggling at the time. Trippier, who swapped life in the Champions League with Atletico Madrid for an immediate relegation fight, alluded to this when he was asked what vision was being put to him following conversations with part-owners Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi and head coach Eddie Howe.
"If we stay up, we need to build and then build again and then build again and then go for the title," the 31-year-old simply said on his recent appearance on the True Geordie Podcast.
Trippier was one of five signings Newcastle made last January as the owners spent more than £90m in their first window in charge. Further investment is planned in the summer but there are a number of survivors from the Ashley era who have proved they can play a big part in the club's future.
Take Joelinton, for example, who has looked reborn under Howe as a combative midfielder after previously struggling as a number nine following his club-record move from Hoffenheim in 2019. Such have been Joelinton's performances in recent months, in a role he had never previously played in, Newcastle will surely not need to strengthen that particular position this summer.
Even Trippier has been wowed. Joelinton was the individual who surprised Trippier the most when he first joined the club and the right-back went as far as to say that the Brazilian reminds him of former Spurs team-mate Moussa Dembele, who he rates as the best player he ever shared a dressing room with.
"He can go where he wants to," Trippier added. "He has the ability to be a world-class player and I think the gaffer has got him in that position now where he's like a number eight.
"The way he presses, he wins the ball back. He's aggressive with and without the ball, and I feel he's showing that.
"Fair play to him. He's maybe come under criticism, but he's starting to show what a player he can be."
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