Newcastle United wide man Matt Ritchie has been told he can leave the club by manager Rafa Benitez, according to The Sun.
The £45,000-a-week ace [Spotrac] is understood to have requested a new deal at St. James’ Park that would run behind the end of his current contract, which expires in 2021.
That request was denied, however, because of the 29-year-old’s age, and Benitez instead gave him permission to look for another side should he wish to secure one last bumper deal.
OPINION
This is a really unexpected twist from Newcastle. Ritchie has been on fire in recent weeks, and has adapted brilliantly to his new role as a left wing-back. There have been matches this season where he has been one of the brightest sparks in an otherwise turgid United side, and to let him go would, to many, be a massive mistake. Ritchie may not be getting any younger, but at 29 he is hardly finished, and you would suspect that he still has another three or four years at least at the top level. After making such a scene about wanting a new left back in January, to then ship out the best one he has seems uncharacteristically flippant from Benitez. The hope will be that this report has got it wrong, because losing Ritchie, especially when he is clearly keen to stay at the club, could prove to be a very poor lapse in judgment from the Toon Army.