OPINION
Jonjo Shelvey has endured the kind of torrid fall from grace that every footballer must fear immensely.
Only this time last season the playmaker was pulling the strings in the heart midfield for Newcastle United, and was widely considered to be one of the most important members of Rafa Benitez’s squad. There was even some talk of a spot on the plane to Russia.
Fast forward 12 months and he is very much the pariah of this Toon side. He can’t seem to buy a place in Benitez’s 11 for love nor money, and he hasn’t started a game since November.
With the injured Sean Longstaff very much the darling of the Gallowgate these days, and with Mo Diame, Isaac Hayden, and Ki Sung-yeung ahead of him in the pecking order, it’s hard to see where his next run in the side is going to come from.
Summer is fast approaching, and increasingly the question is being asked as to whether or not he will still be on Tyneside next season.
And expert opinion certainly doesn’t bode well for the £70,000-a-week midfielder [Spotrac].
When asked whether or not Shelvey would start another game this season, Chronicle journalist Lee Ryder gave a worryingly frank response.
He said: “I would be surprised, I really would. He hasn’t started a game since November. I think Rafa has made his point.
“Whether Rafa felt he should have been fit and available earlier in the season and he’s come back and other players are in better form, I don’t know. You’d love to ask Jonjo Shelvey that.
“Rafa was asked yesterday if he will get a chance in the last few games. It would have been really easy for him to say yes, he didn’t, so maybe there’s your answer.”
?? @lee_ryder: "I'd be surprised, I really would."
Do you think Jonjo Shelvey will start another game for #NUFC this season? pic.twitter.com/ucUFIqjGP8
— The Chronicle (@ChronicleNUFC) April 20, 2019
That seems to sum it up pretty well to be fair. If Rafa had plans for Shelvey, why wouldn’t he just give him his public backing?
At the very least, the Spaniard is clearly uncertain over Shelvey, and that in itself is not a good sign.