Would Bournemouth be doing Ritchie a favour to resign him?
It has been suggested for quite a while that Matt Ritchie wants to return to the south coast. His love affair with the Northeast looks over with his time spent mostly on the bench. He may have liked being up north when he was playing a big role in Scotland's team, but has not been selected in recent squads. Whether he still intends to have a punt at making the Euro Championships later this summer may depend on him getting a move and playing regular games, so I can see his interest in Bournemouth.

I don't think playing for Scotland is his overriding concern. Matt just loves playing football and if he isn't getting games at Newcastle why wouldn't he want to return to a club he knows inside out and who need good characters to help them get back in the promotion race? Dropping down to the Championship would mean a lot of games and Matt has bundles of energy so it looks a good fit.Advertisement

Bournemouth may have expected David Brooks to have moved or to have raised his game further than he has been able to this season. It may not hurt him to have some real competition for his place in the team and with Ritchie's free kick accuracy, it is never bad to have another deadball specialist in the squad. The question I have is, wouldn't Bournemouth benefit from bringing in more players that haven't been to the Premier League and who are hungry to get there like Ben Pearson.
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The relationship Ritchie had with the fans was as good as many players while he was at Dean Court, it was just the surprise of his desire to head up north that shocked people at the time. But our fans know that he played a major part in getting the team promoted to the Premier League and he'll always be owed a great debt for that. So, in some ways, I am open to a return if that is what he wants and Bournemouth can benefit. Tindall, like Howe, seems to love surrounding himself with AFCB friends and I'll not be surprised if Ritchie is seen around Dean Court in the next few hours.
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I know some will grumble if Ritchie does return. Looking at the team at the moment, it needs quality because the price-tags of the current squad don't bear up to how they are performing. We know you get quality deliveries with Ritchie and it might be something that helps boost Solanke's service in front of goal. So Bournemouth might be just as much in need of an eager Ritchie, as Ritchie's own desire to open another chapter of his Bournemouth career.
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Cherry Chimes
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