Newcastle United’s Matt Ritchie has been linked with a move away this summer.
Newcastle United boss Rafael Benitez has told Sky Sports that he doesn’t want to sell winger Matt Ritchie amid links with a move to Stoke City.
The Magpies have been fairly quiet in the transfer market this summer, as they have only managed to bring in Martin Dubravka and Ki Sung-yueng permanently, as well as Kenedy on loan, and the harsh reality is that Benitez may need to sell in order to buy.
Mike Ashley isn’t pumping transfer funds into the club, and Benitez seemingly faces yet another difficult transfer window despite guiding Newcastle to a top half finish last season.
Fringe players such as Chancel Mbemba and Aleksandar Mitrovic are primed to leave in order to raise funds, but Newcastle may have to sell a first-team player – and preferably not captain Jamaal Lascelles.
Recent speculation has suggested that Matt Ritchie could be on the move, with the Daily Mail recently reporting that Newcastle rejected a £15million bid from Stoke City for the winger.
Ritchie, 28, was key in Newcastle’s promotion-winning campaign, notching 12 goals and seven assists, whilst he was also important last term, recording three goals and five assists.
Yet given his age, Newcastle may be tempted to cash in for big money whilst they still can, with the Scotland international unlikely to increase in value over the coming years.
Now, manager Benitez has told Sky Sports that he doesn’t want to sell Ritchie and was talking to him just this morning, stating that there is no change in the situation – but he stopped short of completely ruling out a sale.
“We are in the same position as we were last year,” said Benitez. “He’s our player, we’re happy with him and we don’t want to sell him. To do a move, too many things has to happen at the same time. I was talking with him this morning, I don’t see any change with the situation,” he added,
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