Newcastle United journalist Liam Kennedy has been sharing his thoughts on Matt Ritchie and his future at St. James’ Park.
This comes after Kennedy made an appearance on the latest episode of #NUFC Matters with Steve Wraith where he spoke about a range of topics concerning the Tyneside club.
On the subject of Ritchie and his future at the club, which has been the subject of speculation in recent weeks, Kennedy had this to say on the matter. (49.00)
He said: “I think it’s a tough one to lose Ritchie this summer. I do. I think he’s really showing his worth to this squad in this really tough time and I think when the chips are down, which they might be again next season, and you’re looking at the bench and who can you turn to, I think Matt Ritchie is one of those players I would want to turn to but again, what that overlooks is the will of the player, does the player want to be sitting on a bench?
“I suspect he wants to go to another football club where he is going to be guaranteed to play games.”
Newcastle signed Ritchie back in the 2016 summer transfer window from AFC Bournemouth for a fee of £10.8 million.
Since then, the 31-year-old, who is currently valued at £3.6 million, has gone on to make 166 appearances for the Toon across all competitions, prior to their Premier League clash against newly-crowned league champions Manchester City on Friday night, in which he has managed to score 24 goals and provide 30 assists in the process (per Transfermarkt).
TIF Thoughts on Liam Kennedy’s comments on Ritchie and his future at Newcastle…
Given how Ritchie has chipped in with an assist in each of Newcastle’s previous two victories in the Premier League against West Ham United and Leicester City, he has shown that he can be a useful member of the team and should remain at the club, in our view.
Would you be disappointed if Ritchie left Newcastle this summer?
Yes
No
However, with reports emerging earlier in the season that he had a falling out with Newcastle manager Steve Bruce, this could potentially be a stumbling block in the club potentially trying to convince Ritchie to stay at St. James’ Park and see out his current contract which is set to expire in 2023.
In other news: ‘Unfortunately’ – Liam Kennedy drops arbitration claim at Newcastle after ‘leaks’