Howe expresses surprise at Trippier's desire to leave Newcastle

The defender is now considering a fresh opportunity outside of Newcastle following a tumultuous week where he was stripped of the team captaincy and found out he would not be in the starting lineup for the season opener against Southampton.

Trippier has two years to run on his contract at St James’ Park and reports say he would be open to a move away within the next week with a number of clubs interested including Premier League rivals Everton. 

Howe spoke about the situation today and admits he is surprised the full back wants to leave. 

"The situation is business as usual, Tripps has trained really well this week. I'm surprised by a lot of the stories that have come out. 

"He's trained really well since he came back from the Euros - I think he's only had two weeks of training, hence the reason why he didn't start last week. 

"I'm not really sure where this has come from. He's preparing as we all are for the game on Saturday."