Ritchie made the surprise move to Newcastle in the summer of 2016.
Newcastle United managing director Lee Charnley has told the Daily Mail that Toon winger Matt Ritchie opted to join the club in 2016 because he has the belief of an instant return to the Premier League.
The 28-year-old joined Newcastle in the summer of 2016 for £12million (Daily Mail) after the club had been relegated from the Premier League into the Championship, despite being a regular at top-tier outfit AFC Bournemouth.
He starred for the Toon during their instant return to the Premier League, scoring an impressive 16 goals from the right flank and adding another 10 assists to that tally. This season, he missed just three top-flight outings.
Charnley claimed that the reason Ritchie moved to St. James’ Park is because may treated the 2016-17 campaign as a one-season gamble, in that had they failed to gain promotion, some would have left – including Ritchie.
“It would have been a catastrophe, a bloodbath,” said Charnley. “The manager would likely have gone. This was a one-season gamble from his view as well.
“Some of the players would have wanted to go. Matt Ritchie, for example, bought into this on the basis of, ‘One year in the Championship then I am going to the Premier League’”.
This season, Ritchie has gone on to make the right flank his own under Rafa Benitez, scoring three crucial goals throughout the campaign including the winner in a 1-0 victory over Manchester United.
The former Swindon Town star has three years remaining on the five-year deal he signed in 2016, which the Daily Star claim is worth £30,000 a week.
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