Why Newcastle United should offer Jonjo Shelvey fresh terms

According to the Chronicle Live, Newcastle United star Jonjo Shelvey has expressed his desire to extend his stay at St. James’ Park, with the midfielder’s existing contract in the North East set to expire in the summer of 2021.

The 27-year-old has been heavily linked with a move to West Ham in recent transfer windows but he has blown those speculations away, insisting that he is very much settled at Tyneside and wants to finish his top-flight career with the Magpies. (h/t Chronicle Live)

Shelvey has blown hot and cold over the course of his four-year stay at Newcastle since moving to the north-eastern part of the country from Swansea City back in 2016, with injuries often stalling his progress and resulting in his slip down the pecking order.

Image result for jonjo shelvey" — Jonjo Shelvey scored an absolute stunner to guide Newcastle United to a 2-2 draw against Man City on Sunday (Getty Images)

However, as per the report, the 6-cap England international has confirmed that he is keen to put pen to paper on fresh terms at Tyneside and push on for greater heights as he starts to enter his prime years as a professional footballer.

The former Liverpool man started only 10 games for the Magpies in the Premier League last season under Rafael Benitez, with injuries largely restricting his involvement in the playing eleven.

However, he has put all the disappointment behind him to make a bright start to life under new manager Steve Bruce this term, featuring in 8 out of Newcastle’s 14 league fixtures so far, including 8 as a starter.

Shelvey opened his account for the season with a goal in the 3-1 defeat to Norwich City back in August and has grabbed the deadlines with a string of fine displays in recent weeks.

The 27-year-old found the net in Newcastle’s 3-2 victory over West Ham and capped off another lion-hearted performance with a sensational late equaliser to earn his team a vital point in a 2-2 draw against reigning champions Man City on the final day of November.

As a matter of fact, Shelvey has started each of the club’s last four games in the Premier League against the likes of Bournemouth, West Ham, Aston Villa and Man City, with Shelvey’s ongoing purple patch coinciding with Newcastle’s recent upturn in fortunes.

Indeed, that is something Steven Bruce will surely have on his mind heading into a hectic festive schedule starting from December to the turn of the year.

That the 27-year-old has started to find his stride ahead of a key time of the season should be music to the ears of the club faithful, bearing the knowledge that Shelvey is one of the most influential midfielders in the ranks.

To put things into perspective, Jonjo Shelvey has often struggled to live up to his potential at Newcastle United over the past few years but he continues to be a key cog in the middle of the park for the Magpies and it should be an absolute no-brainer for them to offer him a new deal at the earliest in a bid to ward off speculations over his future.

Despite the 27-year-old carving out a negative reputation at Tyneside due to his patchy injury record, Shelvey is one of the few players at the club with the ability to set the stage on fire with game-changing moments of pure brilliance.

Unfortunately for Newcastle, those moments have been hard to come by in recent years, however, the goal against Man City on Sunday was a reminder of the kind of technical genius that the possesses.

Hitting the ball from outside the box with such accuracy and such venom is no mean feat and that goal should go a long way towards boosting his confidence.

Shelvey, who stayed put at Newcastle even after their relegation from the top-flight at the end of the 2015-16 season, has shown strong signs of coming into his own in recent weeks and the Magpies will need him to continue that way if they are to push on for a respectable mid-table finish under Bruce.

That he is one of the most creative players at the club is well backed up by the numbers. As per whoscored, Shelvey’s average of 1.3 key passes and 4.1 long balls per game puts him head and shoulders above his Newcastle teammates in terms of creativity and vision required to unlock defences.

Plus, with Jonjo Shelvey about to enter his prime years as a footballer, Newcastle need to iron out an extension for him at the earliest, given that losing him for free in 2021 could only add to their woes.

Verdict

Going by the Romford-born star’s lofty standards and his potential as a player, a tally of 11 goals and 19 assists in 121 appearances across all competitions make for some mediocre readings.

However, at 27, he still has a lot of time to turn things around and Newcastle just can’t afford to lose him if they are to preserve their PL status in the years to come.

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With that in mind, answering Shelvey’s plea for a new deal would definitely be a shrewd piece of business for a number of reasons as far as the Magpies are concerned.