Liam Kennedy has been speaking on the latest edition of NUFC Matters about all things relating to Newcastle United.
One of the topics that he mainly focused on was transfers, and it seems as if Matt Ritchie could leave Tyneside this summer.
The 31-year-old had a fine end to the season for the Toon as he played his part in Newcastle’s brilliant run that saw them finish 12th.
Ritchie played in all of the Toon’s final nine league games and provided three assists.
This followed on from him nearly leaving the club in January and having a huge bust-up with Steve Bruce earlier this year.
However, it does look like he could leave Tyneside this summer after five seasons as a Newcastle player, and Jetro Willems could come in to replace him.
Kennedy said: “Matt Ritchie is the one that I think possibly could go this summer. He has been wanting to go. I think he wants to play regular football, and I don’t think he knows if that’s guaranteed at Newcastle United moving forward.
“If they can probably get rid of Matt Ritchie for £4m or £5m – I know they we’re looking for around £5m from Bournemouth.
“I think that could be the next one, really, to watch – could Jetro Willems come in on a free and Matt Ritchie leave – and I think that’s another one that I’m hearing is kind of bubbling away in and around the background at the moment.”
Do you think that Newcastle should keep Ritchie?
Yes, he deserves to stay
No, time to go
TIF Thoughts on Ritchie and Willems…
Ritchie has been a fantastic servant to Newcastle, and his leadership on the pitch is crucial, so if he were to leave, they would have to find a way to replace those leadership skills.
Willems was a popular player at Newcastle when he was there on loan and made a good impression, but he hasn’t played a game of football since he suffered an ACL injury playing for the Toon in January 2020, so he might take some time to get up to speed.
We hope that Ritchie doesn’t leave Newcastle as he proved how valuable he is during the run-in.
In other news: ‘Laughable’, ‘His time is up’ – Many Newcastle fans rip into ‘cheerleader’