Manager confirms he would love to sign Newcastle United star

Portsmouth manager Danny Cowley has admitted his desire to sign Newcastle veteran Matt Ritchie in January. 

Matt Ritchie has only made two appearances for Newcastle this season, and the club is considering selling him in January, according to recent reports. The player is in the final year of his contract, and it is unlikely that he will be offered a new one.

Ritchie who started off his career with Portsmouth has previously stated his desire to play for the club again before retiring. Manager Danny Cowley is confident that the player will one day return to Fratton Park where he will ‘finish his career’ but did cast his doubt whether the club will be able to afford to sign him in January.

He told The News, Portsmouth :

“I’d like him, is that possible? Well, we’d love to have Matt Ritchie.

I’m not sure we’d be able to cover his wages coming to Portsmouth, though!

‘That said, he loves the club and he’s been to a couple of games with his boys. We’d like him – I think our xG would go up then and there will be no moaning about set-pieces! I do think he will finish his career at Portsmouth, though.”

Ritchie joined Newcastle from Bournemouth in 2016 for £12 million and has made 190 appearances for the club, scoring 24 goals and providing 33 assists.