Newcastle United midfielder Jonjo Shelvey is seeking to hold urgent talks with manager Rafael Benitez over his future at the club as he looks to remain at St James’ Park, according to the Sun.
The newspaper claim on their website that the English maestro wants to stay on Tyneside this summer despite being linked with a move away, but at the same time wants assurances over playing time for next season.
It is stated that Shelvey has even tabled a proposal to sign a new contract with the Magpies but that with Benitez’s future up in the air, he must wait for a decision to be made before his own status is clear.
Opinion
It seems as though Shelvey is pushing for Newcastle to give him another chance after a season which has been plagued by injury problems, leaving him watching on from the sidelines instead of stamping his mark in the middle of the pitch. A new contract proposal surely signals that he is desperate to remain at St James’ Park but that means nothing if the manager does not want him any more. He is the sort of player who could fetch Newcastle a decent price tag if he was sold this summer and with transfer funds limited on Tyneside, it could be too good an opportunity to pass up. He has not been a favourite of Benitez when he has been fit and so most of the signs point to him departing. Of course this is football and everything can change in the blink of an eye. The manager’s future will almost certainly determine Shelvey’s own destiny at St James’ Park.