Newcastle United star joins elite desert coaching camp ahead of official NUFC pre-season | OneFootball

The days of top tier players returning for pre-season training having piled on serious extra pounds, are long gone.

The same as any other club, Newcastle United players have a break in the summer, holidaying, spending time with family and friends.

However, they are well aware that getting back to full fitness for when the new season kicks off, is an absolute essential. Whereas back in the day, there was some leeway.

With the demands of playing for Eddie Howe and the way he wants to see his team play, the levels of fitness needed are at least as high as any other Premier League club.

Always great to see though when Newcastle United players go the extra mile during the close season, ahead of returning for NUFC pre-season.

Step forward Kieran Trippier.

The United defender involved in an elite coaching camp in the searing desert heat of the United Arab Emirates.

Kieran Trippier putting in this bonus fitness work alongside a number of other pros, including former NUFC full-back (and current Rangers Captain) James Tavernier and Lawrence Shankland of Hearts.

Elite performance coach Chris Bowman is the man who has been putting Trippier and others through their paces and he has shared a number of clips on his Instagram story, featuring the Newcastle United star and other players, as they are put through their paces.

Chris Bowman showing Kieran Trippier amongst this group after training, with the image captioned: “Tough one in the cooker today.”

I find it unbelievable that some Newcastle United fans would be happy for Kieran Trippier to move on elsewhere this summer.

With such a massive season ahead, Newcastle United especially need players of the quality and experience of Kieran Trippier as part of the group.

The second half of last season saw Trippier remind once again just what a quality player he is never more so when helping United defeat Arsenal and Liverpool to win the League Cup.

As for his fitness, he put in great shifts last season and as you can see from the image above, he looks in great condition even before official pre-season kicks off.

Kieran Trippier will turn 36 in September but certainly this final year of his current contract he will still be a huge asset to Eddie Howe.

The La Liga winner and holder of many England caps, I think safe to say he has had a significant positive influence on helping Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall progress so quickly.

I think the young England defenders will be first choice next season for Eddie Howe but I expect Kieran Trippier to be a regular off the bench, as well as also starting a fair few matches in what looks set to be a very demanding season, competing on four fronts.