OPINION
This time last year, the prospect of Rafa Benitez wilfully choosing to omit Jonjo Shelvey from his starting lineup on a regular basis would have been unthinkable.
It is no over exaggeration to suggest that there are very, very few players in the Premier League who can match his long range passing ability from deep lying roles in the midfield, and he was one of, if not the, key component in a drastic transformation at the end of last season that saw the Magpies eventually battle to a 10th placed finish.
What a difference a year makes though, and after a lengthy injury absence and the unexpected rise of Sean Longstaff and Isaac Hayden to first team regular status, Shelvey’s Newcastle future hangs in the balance.
According to the Northern Echo, West Ham are keen on taking the Londoner back to the capital in the summer, and at this rate, you could see him going.
That’s why Monday night’s clash with Arsenal could be such an important one for the £70,000-a-week midfielder [Spotrac].
If he doesn’t start, with Longstaff out, and Mo Diame and Ki Sung-yeung struggling for form, what does that say about the way that Benitez perceives his future on Tyneside.
It would suggest that the England international is so far down the pecking order that he might as well seek first team football elsewhere.
It would be a shame to lose a player of his quality, but if Benitez isn’t keen then he isn’t keen.
Yet if Benitez does give the midfielder the nod to start against Arsenal then it’s the golden opportunity to prove his quality against a side competing at the top end of the table.
This is a real acid test for Shelvey.
