Newcastle United: Jonjo Shelvey isn’t worth it

Newcastle United’s relegation leaves them in a bit of a pickle with some of their wantaway players. Take it from Swansea, Jonjo Shelvey isn’t worth it.

I suppose I should begin this article with a foreword. I really do like Jonjo Shelvey. I loved what he brought to Swansea City and think he has a good deal of talent to offer. But he does have a bit of an ego to contend with, which was part of the reason why he was sold from Swansea so quickly.

Newcastle United were quick to see an opportunity and they wisely snapped him up. Any attitude problem can be done away with when handed a change of scenery, a club full of history, and a world class manager like Rafa Benitez, right?

Well, it didn’t work out that way. Newcastle United finally lost a relegation battle and now, the storied club sits in the Championship division.

The Magpies totally surprised me with their ability to retain Rafa Benitez. So much so that I didn’t anticipate them losing too many players. Clearly they have no intention of spending much time at all in the second tier of English football. Maybe ditch a wantaway like Moussa Sissoko, for pride’s sake, and get on with life.

But I wouldn’t stop with Sissoko. It’s probably best to sell Shelvey as well.

According to the Telegraph, Newcastle United was unable to negotiate a wage cut in light of the relegation, and they stand to pay the bald Englishman £80,000 a week. In the Championship.

The ever-elusive “sources” have indicated that Shelvey is with Newcastle United for the long haul, but it’s hard to make that claim when the club ‘failed’ to negotiate a wage cut. If he was in it for the long haul, wouldn’t he have accepted that a wage cut would be necessary?

Newcastle United should take a page out of Swansea City’s book. Shelvey seemed like a key figure with the Swans when he made the trip to Newcastle on a massive long-term deal. However, the Swans misfortune quickly turned around and they ended up avoiding the relegation battle by quite some distance and finishing midtable.

Shelvey’s attitude problem that the Swans had struggled dealing with may not have been the only thing holding them back, but clearly it was something.

Newcastle United put a lot of faith in Shelvey by making him captain, but it’s not too late to back out of that. There are many better options out there that don’t have a history of attitude problems and ego trips. It may be a tantalizing prospect to keep the 24 year old with the Magpies “for the long haul” but money talks. Newcastle don’t need to pay him that much when teams like Crystal Palace are willing to pay for his services.