OPINION
There’s a rumour going round that West Ham have approached Newcastle United over the possibility of bringing in Jonjo Shelvey as part of a swap deal this January, according to reliable source ExWHUemployee.
In at tweet posted on Thursday morning, the well-known Hammers insider suggested that Manuel Pellegrini’s side had offered former Magpies’ striker Andy Carroll as part of a deal to bring the midfielder to the London Stadium.
Well I heard yesterday we were trying to do a swap deal with Jonjo Shelvey from someone at the ground (told you I would tweet it) although that was the first I had heard of it so not sure how much substance there is ? https://t.co/pmoxE3pfuO
— ExWHUEmployee (@ExWHUEmployee) January 3, 2019
Shelvey is exactly the kind of player that West Ham could use right now, and while we have no idea if there’s any substance to the rumour, if the Irons can get it off the ground it could be a huge win for all parties concerned.
Despite his reputation as a hothead, there are few players in the Premier League who are as effective at slicing open defences with a single pass as Shelvey.
The 26-year-old plays a sort of quarterback role, distributing from deep and immediately turning defence into attack with pinpoint precision.
With the Hammers’ injury concerns in the centre of the park, and with Mark Noble getting no younger, the ex-Liverpool man could be the ideal candidate to help West Ham rocket up the table.
The flip side of this deal, of course, is that Andy Carroll would be shipped out of the London Stadium. This too would be a positive. The striker has been plagued by injuries for the duration of his stay with the Hammers, and the opportunity to move back to the north east could be enough to finally get him off of the wage bill.
There are no downsides to this deal, should it go ahead, but would Newcastle really want to take a huge gamble on Carroll again? We’re not so sure about that.