An exciting Newcastle United claim has been made regarding midfield maestro Jonjo Shelvey…
What’s the talk?
Journalist Dean Jones has revealed that Eddie Howe appreciates the midfielder and believes that he has development left in him to grow further.
This comes after a recent report claimed that the club are attempting to tie him down to a new contract after his recent form in the Premier League since the ex-Bournemouth manager arrived at St. James’ Park.
Jones told GIVEMESPORT: “Jonjo Shelvey, I’m not surprised at all, because I know he’s somebody they value, and in the playing style that Howe has, I think he feels that he could hit new heights.”
Buzzing
Newcastle fans will surely be buzzing with this for multiple reasons, especially in the light of ongoing contract talks.
Firstly, they will be delighted to read about how much the club value Shelvey. His form under Howe has been superb and the appreciation he is receiving could be key to his displays on the pitch as he is playing like a player who knows the management values him, whereas that may not have been the case previously.
In the Premier League this season, he has averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.91 across 17 appearances. This shows that he has been able to deliver impressive performances on a consistent basis in the top-flight, with his range of passing proving to be very useful to Howe and his side.
He has averaged 5.3 long balls per game at a success rate of 62%, which is an impressive statistic given how easy it is for longer passing to go awry in the Premier League. Defenders are incredibly quick and agile and that means that they can cut out passes if they are not bang on the money, with Shelvey able to hit the ball so sweetly to find attackers making runs in behind.
Fans will also be delighted with the prospect of Shelvey improving. At the age of 30, you may not expect too much more growth from a player but Howe seemingly believes that he can get more out of the ex-Liverpool man and that is an exciting thought given the nature of his performances as they are now.
Supporters can now look forward to the Englishman potentially getting better and cementing his place in the middle of the park in the seasons to come. Hopefully, he can maintain his consistency whilst adding more to his game in terms of goals and assist to improve the side.
AND in other news, Howe can find his own Ake for NUFC in “special” £80k-p/w tank who’s “very underrated”…