Jonjo Shelvey is loving life at Newcastle United, according to Charlie Adam.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, (broadcast December 4), Charlie Adam has claimed that Jonjo Shelvey has told him that joining Newcastle United was the best decision he has ever made.
The former Liverpool midfielder joined Newcastle for around £12 million almost two years ago and has since established himself as a key player for the Magpies.
Steve McClaren, who brought him to St James’s Park, was sacked a couple of months after his arrival but Shelvey has arguably become an even bigger player under Rafael Benitez and played a big role in helping United escape the Championship at the first attempt last term.
It was put to Adam that Premier League clubs with locations such as Newcastle and Swansea could struggle to compete with other sides in a more fashionable part of the country – like, say, London – but the Stoke man has rubbished that and named Shelvey as an example of a player who couldn’t be happier up North.
He told BBC Radio 5 Live: “I speak to Jonjo Shelvey, and he loves it up in Newcastle – and he’s a London boy. He says: ‘It’s the best decision I’ve ever made.’
“His family loves it, his kids love it, and it’s just different and I think a lot of the foreign players find it difficult because London is a big attraction, Manchester is a big attraction.
“But, listen, when you get an opportunity to go and play in the Premier League, it doesn’t matter where you play – Swansea, Newcastle, wherever – it should be a privilege and an honour to play in the Premier League.”
Shelvey is probably a bit frustrated at Newcastle at the moment after being overlooked for a first XI spot by Benitez over the past two Premier League games, settling for late cameos.
But Mo Diame struggled big time in Saturday’s defeat by Chelsea and Shelvey can expect a recall by the Spaniard when United host Leicester on Saturday.
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