'Incredible' - Man City captain compares Newcastle United to ‘massive’ European heavyweight

Kyle Walker has revealed England teammate Kieran Trippier compared Newcastle United’s fervent fan base to Napoli’s across the continent.

Toon supporters follow their team all over the world despite being starved of domestic silverware for almost 70 years. The Saudi-backed takeover promises to end that trophy curse, with Eddie Howe almost clinching the Carabao Cup 16 months ago.

Trippier was the first player to take the leap of faith in January 2021, arriving from Champions League outfit Atletico Madrid when Newcastle were battling relegation. The club’s passionate support left an immediate impression on the former Tottenham Hotspur defender.

“In my first game against Cambridge it was a sell-out,” Trippier told the High Performance podcast in 2022. “No disrespect to Cambridge - you don’t see that. A Premier League side selling out a stadium on a Wednesday night or whenever it was.

“The fans have been incredible since I’ve been here. You see they have the banners, the Wor Flags, and I can always go back to that game against Arsenal at home last year (May 2022). It’s up there with the best atmosphere I’ve been involved in, for sure.”

Manchester City captain Walker has now opened up on Trippier’s behind-the-scenes chats about Newcastle. The duo were teammates at Spurs and have played alongside each other internationally for seven years.

Trippier is said to have compared Toon fans to Napoli’s - known to be arguably the most zealous in Serie A. Walker told his podcast: “They are two massive clubs (Newcastle and Sunderland) up there. Me and Tripps go back a long way. 

“He just says the city when you are doing well, it’s incredible. He compared it to Napoli. Once you are doing well in that city, you probably eat for free!”