KIERAN TRIPPIER has named the best team-mate he has ever played alongside… and it may surprise a few people.
The 32-year-old has linked up with a host of superstar talent during his career.
At Tottenham, he featured alongside the likes of Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen and Son Heung-min.
He then moved to Atletico Madrid and won the LaLiga title in a squad which included Antoine Griezmann, Luis Suarez and Joao Felix.
And now he has returned to England with Newcastle where the likes of Bruno Guimaraes, Allan Saint-Maximin and Miguel Almiron are all featuring in the team.
But Trippier does not consider any of those to be the best player he has played alongside.
Instead, the England full-back has stated that former Belgian midfielder Mousa Dembele is at the top of that list.
Speaking to fans on Mousa Dembele when I was at Tottenham.
“The guy was an absolute magician with the ball. I haven’t seen anyone like him before, so I’ve got to say him.”
Dembele, now 35, spent seven years at Tottenham between 2012 and 2019.
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Trippier then joined the club in 2015 and enjoyed three-and-a-half seasons alongside the ex-Fulham midfielder.
And Trippier is not the first person to praise Dembele for being a world class talent.
The Belgian, who retired from football earlier this year, was once compared to Ronaldinho and Diego Maradona by former Spurs coach Mauricio Pochettino.
Speaking in 2017, Poch said: “He has started to work very hard, we are very happy with him.
“I always say, âMousa, when I write my book I will say you are one of the genius players I have been lucky to meetâ.
“They are Maradona, Ronaldinho, Jay-Jay Okocha, Ivan de la Pena and and Mousa Dembele.
“Weâve always told him that if we had taken him at 18 or 19 years old, he would have become one of the best players in the world.”
