Kieran Trippier expects Tottenham to reach ‘new heights’ as defender issues heartfelt goodbye

Kieran Trippier believes Tottenham will continue to reach "new heights” as he issued a heartfelt goodbye to his former club after joining Atletico Madrid.

The 28-year-old has agreed a three-year deal with the Spanish outfit and joins for a fee believed to be worth £20m.

Trippier spent four years at Tottenham with his last appearance for the club coming in the Champions League final defeat to Liverpool.

“THANK YOU,” he wrote on Instagram, after initially tagging the NBA franchise San Antonio Spurs rather than his former club. “I’ve met some amazing people at [Tottenham] many of whom I now call my friends.

“To the Tottenham fans from around the world – you’ve been amazing. The support you’ve shown me and the team took us to new heights, and with the new stadium I have no doubt that the team and fans have many exciting times ahead!

“Wish everyone at the club nothing but the best.”

Of his move to Atletico, Trippier said: “It’s an amazing feeling. I’ve always wanted to play abroad and what a place to play, in Madrid.

“It’s a fantastic team with an unbelievable manager and I’m just looking forward to getting on with it now and meeting the team.

“They’ve been to some major finals and done so well in LaLiga over the years.

“It’s something that I can’t wait to do, to work with the manager, learn off the manager and help the team to be a success in the future.

“We’ve got some world-class players and you can see how close the manager is with his squad and I can’t wait to be part of this.”

A key man in England’s run to the last four of the 2018 World Cup, scoring the opening goal in the semi-final defeat to Croatia, Trippier’s form dipped during the course of the 2018/19 campaign.

But the former Manchester City trainee still made 38 appearances across all competitions as Spurs finished fourth and made it all the way to the Champions League final at Atletico’s Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.

He will now call the Spanish capital home, with Atleti signing the right-back they were seeking having released the experienced Juanfran after his contract expired this summer.

Some reports suggested Spurs could sign striker Angel Correa from Atletico as part of the deal but Trippier departed in a cash-only transfer.

He moved to Tottenham from Burnley in 2015 after an impressive spell in the side at Turf Moor.

Having initially played second-fiddle to Kyle Walker, Trippier emerged as Mauricio Pochettino’s main right-back after Walker’s departure to Manchester City.

Trippier signed a new five-year deal at Spurs in 2017 but has now moved on, the club issuing a three-line statement confirming his departure and wishing him luck in the future.

Left-back Rose also appears set to land a move away from N17.

The club confirmed on Wednesday morning that the 29-year-old was not part of the squad travelling for their pre-season tour and announced he was one of three players left behind to work on a potential exit.