Jonjo Shelvey may be left fearing for his future as Newcastle United are said to be interested in making a move for midfielder Adrien Rabiot.
After the Magpies’ takeover, a number of players were cast aside from first-team plans to make way for new exciting signings. The likes of Ciaran Clark and Isaac Hayden were left out of the 25-man Premier League squad for the second half of the season, while Bruno Guimaraes and Dan Burn were among those to arrive in January.
This summer, it could be a similar story if Calciomercato’s claims of Newcastle’s previous interest in Juventus man Adrien Rabiot are accurate, with TEAMtalk suggesting the Toon are favourites for his signature – though this time, Shelvey could be the man to suffer.
Shelvey renaissance
In fairness to the Englishman, he has enjoyed a little bit of a renaissance under new manager Eddie Howe. Indeed, in the first stages of the season under Steve Bruce, the 30-year-old’s SofaScore player ratings were 6.0 in August and 6.3 in October (he was injured in September).
However, since the new boss came in, his average score has been 7.0 or higher in all but one month – when it dropped to 6.9.
And when you look at the way Newcastle have lost just once in the last 11 Premier League games the midfielder has started, it’s easy to see why he’s been a regular in the team of late.
With Shelvey in the team, the Magpies look like they should avoid relegation this season. But they may harbour higher ambitions than just that.
Rabiot compared
This is where Rabiot could come in. The Frenchman plays in the middle of the park like Shelvey, but is three years younger, and so would fit a good age profile for an ideal upgrade, arriving in his prime years.
He would also bring a serious amount of pedigree that Shelvey cannot contend with. Indeed, after spending time with Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain, Rabiot boasts a full trophy cabinet that includes numerous league titles in France and Italy as well as plenty of domestic cups.
If Newcastle want to start winning their own trophies, they may want to bring in a few proven stars who have done it all before such as the 27-year-old.
And when comparing the two on FBRef, Rabiot has performed better per 90 this season when it comes to winning aerial duels, touches per game, dribbles, tackles won, pass completion accuracy, among other key stats for a midfielder – apart from shot-creation actions and goals scored.
Does Jonjo Shelvey have a future at NUFC?
Yes
No
TIF Verdict…
All in all, if Rabiot was signed, it’s hard to look at Shelvey and think he’d have much of a hope starting over the Frenchman in midfield for Eddie Howe.
With that in mind, he may well be sweating over his future amid these latest rumours.
In other news: ‘You speak to any player’ – Keith Downie reveals 25 y/o being raved about behind-scenes at NUFC