Newcastle United considering new contracts for surprise pair - on one condition

Newcastle United’s decision to offer Paul Dummett and Matt Ritchie a new contract could be determined by whether or not the club qualifies for Europe.

That’s according to head coach Eddie Howe with Dummett and Ritchie - as it stands - out-of-contract on June 30. Dummett has made just two starts and six substitutes appearances across all competitions this campaign, while Ritchie has made one start and 16 outings from the bench.

The pair are currently in Australia with the squad, despite the uncertainity surrounding their futures. Newcastle take on Tottenham Hotspur at the MCG on Wednesday before facing the A-League All Stars less than 48 hours later.

Attention then switches to Saturday’s FA Cup final. After finishing 7th in the Premier League table, the Magpies need Manchester City to beat Manchester United, otherwise a place in next season’s Europa Conference League will go Chelsea instead with the Red Devils claiming a Europa League spot.

Dummett and Ritchie’s futures at St James’ Park could also depend on a Man City victory. That could either be because of the extra matches Europe naturally brings or because of UEFA squad rules. The latter applies more to Dummett after he joined United’s academy aged nine.

Seventeen players can be named in a squad without any restrictions. Then, in order to name more players in a squad, clubs must include up to eight further homegrown players. Of the eight homegrown players, at least four must be club-trained in order to name a full squad of 25. If a club are unable to fill the homegrown or club-trained player quotas, their squad sizes will be reduced accordingly.

Speaking after the Premier League final day win at Brentford, Howe said: “The players that you’re talking about are just incredible characters. There is slight doubt over their futures but we go to Australia with them. European qualification may potentially have a bearing on what happens with their future but what I will say is Paul Dummett and Matt Ritchie have been incredible servants to the football club. I absolutely love their characters and what they’ve given.”

Dummett turns 33 in September having made his senior debut 11 years ago. He has gone on to amass 213 appearances for his boyhood club, although 13 of those have come in the past three seasons. Ritchie, meanwhile, has appeared 215 times since joining from AFC Bournemouth for £12million in 2016 but similar Dummett has rarely featured in recent seasons.

Howe continued: “Sometimes it's very easy to define success by what happens on the pitch but you have a process, training ground work, an environment and culture you're trying to create and these two players have been absolutely fundamental to how we work behind the scenes. I can't speak highly enough of them.”