Report this comment
  • "
    Wilesy wrote:
    Good work in rebuffing that offer. I guess it wouldn't be Bournemouth this time as it was made clear before (several times) we valued him at £2m, and now he's League 2's player of the year it's £2.5-3m. In money terms that means he is Swindon's best ever player. 2 points, sort of linked - 1) He is only under contract to the end of this season, would be good to follow suit with Caddis and extend that. 2) His goal will certainly be to play in Championship, so like last year if we are not in contention for playoffs or auto promotion, would an offer be more tempting? £900k in Jan with 6 months left on contract...
    Wilsey, completely agree with your point 2.
    *
    I hope that Ritchie has more than just 1 year left on his contract - no doubt LR can confirm. If not and he won't extend at Christmas then I would sell him regardless. No matter how some fans are getting carried away with the finances, it would be naive to risk losing a sum close to £1m."
  • This field is mandatory
  • This field is mandatory

  • Please note we will not accept reports with HTML tags or URLs in them.


  • Enter the above word in the box below

Please be fair, courteous and respectful to the views of others so we can build a vibrant community in a safe online environment. You are personal liable for your comments and action will be taken against anyone who offends, ridicules or posts malicious and damaging views. If you wish to complain, please contact us.

SWINDON TOWN: Ritch fee?

6:00am Wednesday 18th July 2012 in News By Sam Morshead

In Demand? Matt Ritchie In Demand? Matt Ritchie

SWINDON Town have turned down a £900,000 bid from an unnamed club for a senior member of Paolo Di Canio’s squad, the Robins boss has revealed.

The offer, which the Advertiser understands was lodged for winger Matt Ritchie during the club’s tour of Italy last week, was immediately rebuffed by Di Canio - who is keen to keep all the key members of last year’s League Two-winning side with Town ahead of the 2012/13 campaign.

The Italian did not specify the names of the individual or interested club in question but Ritchie has been the subject of significant interest from elsewhere over the last eight months, with Bournemouth seeing three bids for his services rejected by the Robins between November and January, and the former Portsmouth man remains one of Swindon’s hottest properties.

“Nine-hundred-thousand is not a crazy offer in my opinion for a League One side, especially for Swindon that has no problem financially,” said Di Canio.

“It’s not the latest news, not one hour ago, but a few days ago or maybe a week ago - but I denied it straight away and said no.

“Even if they offered me two League One players and some money I would say no because for me this player is crucial.

“I think it’s better to have this player than two League One players plus some money. Maybe it would be a larger squad but not the quality like the player I’ve got.

Di Canio stressed on Tuesday that only “crazy offers” would tempt him to part with his prized assets, and he did not consider the approach to be of that level.

“Crazy no, in my opinion it’s not crazy because the value that I’ve given to my players are much higher than the club’s,” he said.

“Perhaps I’m crazy because I think some of my players cost in this moment maybe £3million - someone maybe would pay £100,000. It’s not for us because we don’t have a problem, we keep the best players.

“If they come with £2.5million maybe I can think yes because I already have some targets that give us the opportunity to be a top, top, top League One team on paper.”

Local Businesses

About cookies

We want you to enjoy your visit to our website. That's why we use cookies to enhance your experience. By staying on our website you agree to our use of cookies. Find out more about the cookies we use.

I agree