Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez responds to Matt Ritchie exit reports

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Rafa Benitez has played down the suggestion that Matt Ritchie has been told that he can leave Newcastle United.

In comments reported by the Northern Echo, Rafa Benitez has said that he is not happy with the reports suggesting that Matt Ritchie has been told that he can leave Newcastle this summer, insisting that no such conversation has taken place.

The Sun reported this week that Ritchie had recently met Benitez hoping to secure a new contract. However, the Spaniard reportedly told the 29-year-old that he would not be getting a new deal due to his age and could look to leave the club.

But Benitez has hit out at the suggestion that he has told Ritchie that he can leave St James’ Park, explaining that doubts over his own future make it impossible for him to tell the winger that he cannot have a new contract.

“I have had some players talking with me (about their future), but I told them you have to talk with the club not me. All I can do is make sure they are fit and ready, and pick the team,” he said, as reported by the Northern Echo. “My priority is to concentrate on the next game. I am not happy when I see all the stories about Ritchie, it is not true.

“My job is to prepare Ritchie for the next game. I cannot give any advice about the future, my contract is up on the 30th of June. If I do not have a contract after next month, how can I say to him, ‘I will not give you a contract?’”

After the glint of light appeared in the shape of Miguel Almiron during the final hours of the January transfer window, the Newcastle fans would be forgiven for feeling extremely nervous that Benitez’s future on Tyneside has not been sorted.

He has done a fantastic job since arriving at Newcastle. And of course, losing a manager of his calibre in the summer would be a huge blow to the club’s chances of staying in the Premier League for a lengthy spell.

But it would also send out a very worrying message that very little has changed if Benitez does end up leaving. And with that, perhaps the fans would have to get used to simply being a club that flirts with relegation every year until their luck runs out once again or big changes take place.