OPINION
Newcastle United midfielder Jonjo Shelvey has been somewhat of a revelation after he made the move to St James’ Park in 2016.
Some may argue that he is too good a player to be starring for a side threatened with relegation from the Premier League, but much too many people’s surprise, he is the one who should be fearing for his future in the first team.
That is all down to summer recruit Ki Sung-Yueng, whose breakout display on Saturday was worthy of many plaudits.
Rewind a couple of weeks and some fans would consider themselves barking mad to consider the prospect of a team without Shelvey.
However, fast forward back to now, and things could not be more different.
Shelvey is unlikely to feature against Bournemouth this weekend as the club are trying to find out the full extent of the muscular injury that saw him hauled off at half time during the Watford game.
If his teammate Mo Diame’s comments are anything to go by, then the United mainstay has every right to be sweating over his first team future.
“He’s a quality player. Since I’ve been in the UK I’ve seen him play before at Swansea and Sunderland, so I know how good he is,” Diame said about Ki, as quoted by the Chronicle.
“It’s easy to play with a quality player like him. He has a lot of composure, he plays good passes, and he is good for the team.”
At the moment, his place in the starting XI – which has been pretty much guaranteed bar injury this season – is being seriously compromised due to the sudden rise in form of the South Korea international.
If Ki continues to impress in his absence, then there is no guarantee that Rafa Benitez will oust him from the team upon his return.
Shelvey has a right to be sweating buckets – especially after Diame’s comments.
