Newcastle United forward Dwight Gayle opened up about his friendship with Jonjo Shelvey and gave an insight into what it was like to play alongside the midfielder.
The centre-forward spilled the beans on his teammate and revealed that while Shelvey is perceived as being a bit different at the centre of it all he’s just a good lad who is desperate to win.
Gayle even shared a story about how Shelvey, whose current contract sees him get £90,000-a-week according to The Sun, even was flying into tackles during a friendly game in the back garden.
“He’s perceived to be a bit different, but he’s a good lad and a really good friend,” revealed Gayle in an interview with the Daily Mirror.
“It’s his will to win that might make people see him as aggressive.
“Last weekend, we were in the garden with the lads, and some of their kids are having a kickabout. Then Jonjo joined in and started flying into them with full-on tackles!
“We’ve had a few arguments, I remember in one game he was meant to give the ball back to their keeper and he accidentally booted it out for a throw-in. I was happy for them to throw the ball back to their keeper and get on with it. But he went mad at me, saying, ‘Do you not want to win?’
“But that’s just the way he is – desperate to win.”
OPINION
Gayle is refreshingly candid and open about his teammate Shelvey in this latest interview and it’s good hear such commendatory between two first-team players. The midfielder is perceived as being different but once you hear his teammate explain why he’s viewed in that way, he seems perfectly normal. If anything more players should be like him in some regards as it’s his desire to win that drives him forward. Gayle also opens up later in the interview about his teammates justified sadness over being ignored by Gareth Southgate for the World Cup in Russia this summer. After playing 32 times in the recently finished season and having the majority of his displays be superb, it’s a shame that Shelvey won’t be wearing a England shirt in the near future. The midfielder would have been a potential game changer for his nation, but Southgate’s loss is the Magpies gain. The 26-year-old creative genius will be able to rest up this summer ahead of a new season, though based on Gayle’s comment maybe he should stay away from even friendly games of football so he doesn’t get hurt.
