Matt Ritchie will always be welcome on Tyneside – Here’s hoping he isn’t hanging up his boots | OneFootball

Matt Ritchie will leave Newcastle United this summer but will always be welcome back to the North East.

Arriving from Bournemouth back in 2016, he’s been a consistent performer who left nothing on the pitch.

Signed by Rafa Benitez, Ritchie was an integral part of the side that was promoted from the Championship in 2017.

Benitez assembled an honest group of players that season who possessed the ability to get the club back into the Premier League and Matt Ritchie played a vital role with his twelve league goals that season, as well as his overall competitive play.

The £12m transfer fee was significant for a then Championship club, but that season alone it paid huge dividends, rewarded with instant Premier League status regained.

Matt Ritchie also winning the North-East FWA player of the year award in 2017.

Newcastle United achieved a very respectable 10th placed finish in the top tier on their return. Benitez maintained full faith in Ritchie with him starting thirty two league games, despite the arrival of wingers Jacob Murphy and Kennedy. Although he only scored three goals that season, they were big goals. The most notable being his first of the season against Manchester United in a 1-0 victory which got St. James’ Park shaking. His other two goals were against Southampton and Arsenal, another two big wins on home soil which led Newcastle past that crucial 40+ point tally and finish mid-table.

In the 2028/19 season, once again Matt Ritchie was a consistent figure in the starting eleven, with only Martin Dubraka making more league appearances during the campaign. Again only contributing three goals that season, his two in the league were critical. His first a penalty in a 2-1 victory against league champions Manchester City, his second against his former club Bournemouth, a superbly taken volley in the last minute at the Vitality stadium. Newcastle once again secured a mid-table finish with Ritchie proving to be a reliable asset.

After Benitez left, Ritchie’s form was never quite the same, his first season under Steve Bruce was injury hit after damaging his ankle and he was sidelined for two months. It was one of normality for Newcastle in regards to their league position, once again finishing middle of the pack. Ritchie’s most memorable moment that season was performing his usual celebration by kicking the corner flag with ecstasy after Isaac Hayden’s last minute goal against Chelsea in a 1-0 victory. However on this occasion, a member of the crowd was on the receiving end of this with the flag hitting him in an area where it would especially hurt for all men. The good news was that it was Ritchie who was the culprit, so was let off the hook swiftly.

As Bruce’s era went on, Matt Ritchie was continuing his new role as left wing-back, which Benitez had first identified for him. However, with the arrivals of Danny Rose on loan in Bruce’s first season and Jamal Lewis on a permanent in his second, it was evident Ritchie’s position was under threat.

It was also clear that both player and manager did not see eye-to-eye, with Matt Ritchie labelling Steve Bruce a coward after the manager accused the player of not passing on tactical information when he was substituted on in a 1-1 draw against Wolves in 2021. There were also rumours both Matt Ritchie and skipper Jamal Lascelles were unhappy with the lacklustre approach Bruce had to training and had supposedly made this clear to the coaching staff.

October 2021 the bright light shone on St. James’ Park as the new Newcastle United owners arrived and Bruce was relieved of his duties. In came Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall who worked with Matt Ritchie at Bournemouth for three years. A strong relationship was already there, however, it was clear the wing-back’s time on the field would remain limited with the arrival of Matt Targett and Dan Burn in January 2022. Ritchie was seen as a valuable member of the squad though and played his part in domestic cup competitions since. Used as a sub more frequently towards the latter stages of the games, he would come on with energy and be as vocal as ever.

When both Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall were signed in summer 2023, there was consensus amongst the fans that Ritchie would leave, with former club Bournemouth strongly linked. Eddie Howe however had other plans and wanted him to stay and remain part of the leadership group. His last goal for the club was a romantic one, scoring a stoppage-time equaliser against former club Bournemouth, his first goal since 2020.

Having recently passed his LGV test, you never know what his next career change might be.

However, what would be a shame is if the 34 year-old was to hang up his boots now, as there surely would be a few Championship clubs that could do with a leader of his manner in their changing rooms.