Were Newcastle United correct to turn down a reported £15million bid in the summer for Matt Ritchie?
Newcastle Untied midfielder Matt Ritchie was reportedly subject to a bid from Stoke City in the summer, but it remains to be seen if he can prove the club were right to reject a big-money offer for him.
According to the Daily Mail, the Magpies rejected a £15million move from Stoke in July following their relegation to the Championship.
Rafael Benitez’s side turned their heads at a sizeable fee for a winger that scored just three goals and supplied six assists in all competitions last season.
The pressure is now on Newcastle wide man Ritchie to increase those numbers and become a talisman for his team in the new campaign.
Ritchie got off to a good start on a personal level with an assist in the opening Premier League game of the season, but his side ended up losing 2-1 to Tottenham at St James’ Park.
The Scotland international delivered an inch-perfect cross for Joselu to score against Spurs and he certainly has the technical ability to provide more of that.
His tremendous work-rate is what makes him such a vital part of Rafael Benitez’s side, and his previous performances when in the Championship make it easy to see why Stoke were willing to fork out £15million for him.
However, Ritchie now needs to find a better end product to his game in the top flight and, if he does so, he will justify the decision to keep him at the club over the summer.
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