Newcastle United head coach Steve Bruce has claimed that Magpies midfielder Jonjo Shelvey is the ‘normal’ choice to replace Jamaal Lascelles as captain.
The 26-year-old went down with an injury against Bournemouth last time out and will be out of action until the New Year. Bruce feels Shelvey could well take his place.
“Who is the most experienced? Bloody hell, I’ve got another decision to make,” he said, as per The Chronicle. “Honestly, I’ve not even thought about it.
“That [Shelvey] seems to be the normal one – to put it on him, and I’ve got no problem with that.”
OPINION
Shelvey is certainly one of the names you’d put in the frame to take up the mantle of Newcastle skipper with Lascelles on the sidelines. He’s probably in amongst it with goalkeeper Martin Dubravka and maybe people like Ciaran Clark and Isaac Hayden. The latter certainly seems to have many of the same qualities as Lascelles, but perhaps at just 24 years of age Bruce would want someone a bit more experienced. Clark is 30 and is a reliable and experienced operator, but is perhaps not a guaranteed starter moving forward with Fabian Schar and Florian Lejeune coming back from injury. So perhaps it comes down to Shelvey and Dubravka. You’d have to say that the Slovakian is the more level-headed, consistent character. However, the England international is maybe someone who would thrive on the responsibility of being captain, a la Jack Grealish at Monday’s opponents Aston Villa. But neither Shelvey nor Dubravka would be a bad choice, really.
