Garth Crooks suggests problem with Newcastle’s Jonjo Shelvey

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Jonjo Shelvey was exceptional in Newcastle United’s win at the weekend which takes them to within touching distance of Premier League survival.

Garth Crooks has suggested to BBC Sport that Jonjo Shelvey could be turned into a top-class player while working under Rafa Benitez, but insisted that he feels that the Newcastle ace cannot be trusted.

Shelvey has really stepped up in recent games – as have several others in the Magpies squad – and now Newcastle go into the final handful of fixtures this season virtually assured of top flight football again next year.

The 26-year-old was superb at the weekend against Leicester City as the Magpies ran out 2-1 winners to lift themselves into the top-half of the table after three victories on the bounce. But while Crooks believes that Shelvey’s ability is undeniable, he suggested that he does have a problem with the former Liverpool star.

“This was an amazing victory against the 2016 champions by Newcastle and why I had no choice but to include Jonjo Shelvey in my team of the week. I have to be honest, I don’t enjoy putting players like him in my team. I like footballers and there has been far too much over-physicality where Shelvey has been concerned,” he told BBC Sport.

“However, his performances of late have been impressive. With greater levels of fitness and a more reliable temperament, Magpies boss Rafa Benitez could turn him into a top-class player. Certainly England have no-one with his ability in midfield – he just can’t be trusted right now.”

While Crooks may possibly be being a little harsh on the Englishman, it is fair to say that questions regarding his temperament are likely to linger for a while given that he has had a reputation for being a volatile character and has picked up two silly red cards this season.

Newcastle fans have probably felt that he has turned a corner in the past, only for the midfielder to do something that seems to take everything back to square one, so they may only be allowing themselves to be cautiously optimistic this time around.

But based on his recent performances, there is undoubtedly more than enough reason to be cautiously optimistic that Shelvey is finally starting to put the volatile side of his game behind him and is concentrating on being the talisman at St James’ Park he clearly has the potential to be.