The Chronicle have denied claims that Matt Ritchie’s is ‘all set’ to join Stoke after claims last night that an offer had been accepted for the Newcastle winger.
They insist that Stoke’s are very interested in taking the 28-year-old this summer, however it’s been stated that negotiations over a potential sale are not as advanced as Stoke’s Bear Pit TV reported last night.
Here’s what has been posted by the Chronicle in response to last night’s claims:
“Although Stoke City are interested in Matt Ritchie – and have enquired to Newcastle United about his availability – the Magpies are yet to accept a bid for the winger.
“Reports in the Potteries have claimed that the winger has agreed personal terms with the Championship club and that Newcastle have “accepted” Stoke’s offer, but negotiations are not believed to have advanced that far yet.
“Newcastle could look to sell Ritchie in order to finance moves for Chelsea’s Kenedy or Crystal Palace wideman Andros Townsend, with Middlesbrough and AFC Bournemouth also interested, but it is not certain that the United winger will be sold at this stage.”
So no Ritchie deal agreed just yet – even if Stoke pushing.
Good. Although selling him would hint at raising cash for further investment I think he symbolises all that's been good about last two years at #nufc. Plus he scored the most important goal of last season (v Man U)
— Mark Douglas (@MsiDouglas) July 3, 2018
It seems any sale would be purely to fund a move for Palace’s Andros Townsend, however there’s several fans who are understandably reluctant to see Ritchie replaced with a man who jumped ship after relegation two years ago.
The question is, would he be an upgrade on Ritchie? If Rafa think so, you can see what he’s trying to do here.
