OPINION
There are big changes coming at Newcastle United.
With Rafa Benitez leaving the club yesterday, and with the hunt for a new manager well and truly underway, this promises to be a summer of upheaval and uncertainty for the Toon Army.
The common consensus is that Benitez going is a bad, bad thing, but for some players it could be a blessing in disguise.
Those sidelined or not fancied by the Spaniard could be given a second chance by a regime change, and one man who will certainly be hoping to get a new lease of life is Jonjo Shelvey.
The £70,000-a-week midfielder [Spotrac] fell out of favour somewhat last season, making just 10 Premier League starts and a further six appearances from the bench.
Admittedly, a large part of his absence stemmed from injury, but even when he was fully fit and fighting for a place, the 27-year-old struggled to hold down a regular spot.
But it would appear that he is determined to change things next season.
According to a report in the Chronicle, Shelvey is putting in the hard yards to ensure he is raring to go in the coming campaign.
The local outlet state that the England international was putting in three running sessions a day during a post-season break to Dubai, and that he returned to the Magpies’ training ground at the beginning of June, a whole month before he was required to.
Clearly, the desire to succeed is there, and with 1.6 key passes and 5.4 long balls per match last term, his talent has never been in doubt [Whoscored].
While it is sad that Benitez is gone, if Shelvey can reestablish himself as top dog in the engine room at St. James’ Park he will probably get over the loss pretty quickly.
