Could Rafa Benitez cause late twist in West Ham’s Jonjo Shelvey chase?

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West Ham United are reportedly set to sign Jonjo Shelvey from Newcastle United in the summer.

It was reported by The Sun over the weekend that West Ham are ‘finally’ set to land Jonjo Shelvey in the summer after failing in their pursuit of the Newcastle midfielder during the January transfer window.

The Sun’s report suggests that Shelvey is set to join his boyhood club in a £20 million move having fallen down the pecking order at St James’ Park.

The Toon Army have seen the unlikely pairing of Sean Longstaff and Isaac Hayden form a fantastic partnership in recent weeks.

They may have struggled at West Ham on Saturday, but their form since the turn of the year has generally been superb and has seemingly left Shelvey facing the prospect of not being in Rafa Benitez’s strongest lineup when the Magpies boss has all of his options available – and that is seemingly why there is now a question mark lingering over the former Liverpool man’s future.

The report certainly drops a strong hint that there is a lot more than tentative interest from West Ham at this stage, so it would appear that there may well be a very good chance that the two clubs do manage to agree a transfer in the summer.

But perhaps, there is also a very good chance that Benitez could throw a late spanner in the works with his decision on his own future on Tyneside.

The Chronicle reports that the Spaniard is out of contract in the summer and an agreement over a new deal is yet to have been reached.

If Benitez does end up leaving St James’ Park, the next manager would arguably be a brave man to let Shelvey go. He may not be thriving in the current system, but he is a player who boasts a lot of quality, and he is one of Newcastle’s best players when he is at the top of his game.

So if a new manager comes in, it would arguably be no surprise if any plans to let Shelvey go are shelved in the hope that they can get the best out of the midfielder next season.

There must still be a lot of work to do before Shelvey completes a move to West Ham. But it would appear, from the outside, that a deal may move closer if Benitez sticks around than it would be if he quits.