Longstaff has excelled in place of Shelvey in the Newcastle side.
Jonjo Shelvey has told Newcastle United’s official Twitter account that it has been hard to watch Sean Longstaff’s excellent recent form for the Toon – at the expense of Shelvey in the middle of the park.
Shelvey, 26, has finally returned to training as Newcastle continue their warm weather camp in Spain – with Rafa Benitez’s side not in action this weekend following their exit from the FA Cup.
England international Shelvey has failed to make the Newcastle squad in nine of the Toon’s last 11 Premier League squads, but is now on the road to recovery from a long-standing thigh injury.
The former Liverpool star commented on Longstaff’s rise and admitted it was hard to watch the Toon academy product impress in his position at the base of the Newcastle midfield.
“I’ll be honest, it’s hard to watch someone go into your position,” Shelvey said. “At the end of the day, they’re still your mates as well. I can’t speak highly enough of Longy, he’s been absolutely tremendous.
“He’s so composed on the ball and for such a young lad, he plays like he’s been there and done it all. He’s a top lad and he’s going to have a fantastic career ahead of him.”
Longstaff made his Premier League debut in the 4-0 loss to Liverpool as a substitute and although he was omitted from the squad that lost to Manchester United, the 21-year-old has started and finished each of Newcastle’s last five games.
He was commended by the likes of Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker on Twitter for his Monday night display against Wolverhampton Wanderers during the 1-1 draw at Molineux.
Newcastle are next in action against Huddersfield Town in what is a crucial encounter as the Toon continue to look to avoid a relegation battle. Huddersfield sit rock bottom, on just 11 points.
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