Jonjo Shelvey started Newcastle United’s Premier League clash with Liverpool at St James’ Park.
Jonjo Shelvey
Graeme Souness has told Super Sunday on Sky Sports (broadcast on 1st October 2017 from 16:15) that he thought that Jonjo Shelvey’s pass that led to Newcastle’s equaliser in their draw with Liverpool was outstanding, and added that he has the potential to regain his place in the England team once again.
Shelvey returned to the Magpies’ starting lineup for the first time since being sent off for a moment of madness on the opening day against Tottenham, and he made a crucial impact for Rafa Benitez’s men.
Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez
It was the midfielder’s exceptional pass that led to Joselu scoring Newcastle’s equaliser after Philippe Coutinho’s stunning opener for the away side.
And Souness lauded Shelvey’s impact, suggesting that if he can cut the controversy out of his game, he would stand an excellent chance of being recalled to the national team and perhaps adding to his six caps.
“When you look at his stats, pass completion, he’d be mid-table but what he does, he tries the difficult pass and he’s capable of delivering the difficult pass as we say today. I think he offers a lot as long as he’s not got that moment of madness, he’s got to get that out of his game, 25 years old, it should be gone by now.”
“I’m going to say something daft, I think if he got all his act together, there’d be a shout for him to get back into the England squad.”
Having received so much criticism for the red card he received against Spurs, Benitez will be hoping that Shelvey has learnt his lesson and is now ready to give everything to help Newcastle build on their incredibly promising start to the season – Souness is certainly confident that he could be a key player for the Magpies this term, provided that he simply concentrates on his football.
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