OPINION
Newcastle United midfielder Jonjo Shelvey’s future has appeared murky for some time, and after Saturday’s defeat to Liverpool things are looking bleaker than ever.
Despite producing a tremendous performance in his first start for six months against Brighton & Hove Albion last time out, Rafael Benitez swung the axe on the England international and drafted in Ki Sung-yueng for the Reds clash.
It didn’t quite work out, the South Korean merely produced a mediocre outing as the Magpies fell to a late 3-2 defeat at St James’ Park, but the act of dropping Shelvey itself speaks volumes.
The 27-year-old, who has amassed 110 appearances for Newcastle, is a former Liverpool player, of course. He would likely have been hugely fired up for Saturday’s game, yet Benitez felt that Ki was a better bet.
You can’t blame Shelvey’s Brighton display for him being dropped, because he was excellent, so fingers must be pointed towards a bigger issue between manager and player.
Indeed, the Magpies midfielder is surely now staring a summer exit firmly in the face after this snub. The Chronicle reported in March that a £20million bid is on the table for Shelvey and at this point you’d be surprised if the club didn’t accept it.
Benitez clearly doesn’t fancy the former Swansea City man anymore and hasn’t done for some time. Issac Hayden, Sean Longstaff and now Ki all appear to have moved ahead of him in the pecking order.
With the exception of Longstaff, perhaps, you can’t say that any of those players are more talented than Shelvey. Yet he continues to miss out to lesser midfielders.
After being ignored for a game in which he would have been hugely motivated, Shelvey is surely now getting ready to pack his bags for a likely summer exit.
