Kieran Trippier spotted by fan at Newcastle airport amid questions over his future

Newcastle United full-back Kieran Trippier has been spotted at Newcastle airport today amid continuing speculation that he could be on his way out of the Toon.

While Kieran Trippier is one of the few players granted extended leave after partaking in an international tournament this summer, you'd imagine that were his trip to the Middle East purely recreational, he'd have been there and done that by now.

Newcastle take on Hull City in a friendly tomorrow, so while the squad gears up for a trip to Hull, Trippier has much more exotic climes in mind as Mark Oxley who took the photo says he's bound for the Middle East.

Obviously, there is every chance that it is just Tripps taking a bit of time for himself, but with all the rumours around a move to Saudi swirling around, it's certainly a huge coincidence. Indeed, The Chronicle are saying that club sources have said that Trippier is simply taking a few day's break.

That is a canny big bag mind

You're not fooling us Mr Club Source. Not to play social media detective or anything, but that bag that's on the weigh-in is ruddy huge. It hardly looks like the bag of someone who's just heading out for a few days in the sun. Half of his belongings could fit in there.

There has been no shortage of rumours surrounding Trippier's personal life, with his wife, Charlotte, going full "independent woman" on Instagram lately with all the inspirational quotes and "look how fun I am" posts adding fuel to the fire, so he really could just be looking to get away from it all.

But why the Middle East? Granted he went there in January on a mini training break trying to recover from his injury, but if you were constantly being linked with a move to Saudi Arabia, you'd go somewhere else on holiday wouldn't you?

We expect some form of update over the weekend

We would not be at all shocked to see a story break in a couple of days that a deal has been agreed for Trippier to move to Saudi Arabia which would certainly generate some mixed feelings amongst Newcastle fans.

On one hand, Trippier has been fantastic since he joined the Howe Revolution. He's been massively influential, a true leader on and off the pitch. His record of assists has been second to none, and that's something we are really going to miss.

However, he is 33 now with just a year left on his contract, and his injury record and form in the latter half of last season were far from ideal. It could be the ideal time to cash in on him while we can still get some money. His absence will leave a huge hole in the squad in terms of leadership, and frankly, in terms of assists, but Tino Livramento has all the ability to make up for his absence on the pitch.