Newcastle United Opinion: Magpies need to keep hold of Matt Ritchie at all costs

According to Stoke-on-Trent Live, Stoke City are hot on the trail of Newcastle United winger Matt Ritchie, with manager Nathan Jones interested in bringing the 29-year-old versatile wideman to the bet 365 Stadium this summer.

The same source reports that Stoke City have reignited their interest in Ritchie after missing out on a £15 million deal for the 29-year-old last year when Gary Rowett was in charge.

However, the Potters’ recruitment team believes that Ritchie’s arrival can help the club massively in their push for promotion back to the Premier League.

Ritchie has once again reminded the fans this season what a versatile player he can be by thriving in a left wing-back role under Rafael Benitez in the Premier League.

The former Bournemouth and Portsmouth man has constantly been switched on the right and left sides of the pitch by the manager but he has proven his worth in both the roles.

The 29-year-old has been one of the standout performers of the season for Newcastle, establishing himself as a hugely influential figure even in an unfamiliar left wing-back role.

With the Magpies lacking a natural No.10 for large quarters of the season prior to the arrival of Miguel Almiron in January, Ritchie ensured with his wonderful crossing and incisive passing that the likes of Salomon Rondon and Ayoze Perez received good enough support from the supply lines.

Newcastle signed off on a high with a 4-0 demolition of already-relegated Fulham away from home on the final day of the Premier League and it was Matt Ritchie who came up with a couple of assists to set the Magpies on the front foot. In doing so, he took his tally of assists to 8 in the Premier League for the season, surpassing Salomon Rondon, who finished with 11 goals and 7 assists.

Ritchie, who made his move to Newcastle from Bournemouth back in the summer of 2016 for a fee believed to be in the region of £10-12 million, produced a staggering 12 goals and 7 assists to help the Magpies secure promotion back to the Premier League in the first time of asking.

The Scottish international has made a total of 125 appearances for the Magpies in all competitions till date, accumulating 22 goals and 25 assists.

To put things into perspective, losing a creative and versatile player like Matt Ritchie in the summer would deal a huge blow to Newcastle’s hopes of challenging for a top-ten finish next season.

With his eye for key passes, immaculate crossing, high work-rate and versatility to play as a winger or a wing-back on either side of the pitch, Ritchie offers a lot to a club like Newcastle, and given that he has been in such good form this season, it would be foolish on their part to allow him to leave.

The Magpies do not have any sort of replacement for Ritchie and bringing in a player with similar attributes would cost them a fortune. The 29-year-old still has a contract at St.James’ Park which runs until the summer of 2021 and the club should do everything to retain his services for the foreseeable future.

There are question marks over the futures of a number of players at Tyneside, with the Magpies facing the risk of losing out on signing West Brom loanee Rondon permanently, while Ayoze Perez has also been linked with a move to the Serie A.

Jacob Murphy has struggled to make an impact on his loan spell at West Brom and it remains to be seen what role Benitez has in mind for the winger.

Robert Kenedy is set to return to parent club Chelsea, while the Magpies also have a decision to make on the future of Christian Atsu, who has largely underwhelmed with his performances this season.

Central midfielders Issac Hayden and Mo Diame are also set to head for the exit door, meaning that Newcastle have plenty of problems to contend with in the summer transfer window. (h/t Chronicle)

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Suffice to say, losing Matt Ritchie would only compound their worries and it is not difficult to see that they would have a massive void to fill next season should the versatile 29-year-old leave for Stoke City.