United confirmed that Matt Ritchie and midfielder Jonjo Shelvey had signed new contracts keeping them at St James’s Park until 2023 ahead of the game.
“Delighted, fantastic, as I said in the week, to be part of hopefully a good journey for the football club,” said Ritchie, signed from Bournemouth in 2016.
“I feel like it’s been a positive 4 years since I’ve been here. Hopefully, I can continue that, and make the next three years positive as well.”
Ritchie – who moved around clubs a lot on loan when he was a young player at Portsmouth – feels settled in the North East.
"It's obviously something that I wanted," said the 30-year-old. "Since I came to the club, it's been a successful period, and one that I want to continue being involved in. Hopefully, I can be part of the future.
"When you sign at a club, you want to go there and make an impact, and if you can be part of that club moving forward for a long time, it's something that’s nice. I moved around in my younger years on loan, but to come somewhere and get settled and be part of the progress of the football club is great."