Jonjo Shelvey’s Newcastle United suspension: who benefits?

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Jonjo Shelvey is now set to serve his second suspension of the season after being sent off against Everton. Who at Newcastle is going to benefit?

At this point, despite his obvious talents, Jonjo Shelvey is probably more trouble than he’s worth and Newcastle United would be best served by selling him.

But before they can do that, Newcastle have to play without him against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. Hardly an easy task, but who is going to benefit?

1. Isaac Hayden

First thing’s first, Isaac Hayden will now get a spot in the team. This is a big break for him and so poetic that it should come against his former club, too. Hayden joined Newcastle from Arsenal in 2016 and has thus far failed to nail down a starting place. But a solid, discipline performance against the Gunners could be just what he needs to become the steel next to Mikel Merino’s silk.

2. Mikel Merino

Not only will Mikel Merino now be Newcastle’s primary playmaker, meaning all the play will flow through him instead of splitting between him and Shelvey, but he will now have a more defensive minded duo of Isaac Hayden and Mohamed Diamé doing the defending for him. This will give Merino the freedom to roam wherever he finds space to try and influence the game.

3. Jonathan Barnett

Jonathan Barnett is Jonjo Shelvey’s agent, and thus must be somewhat delighted by this red card. With Newcastle wanting to buy, they will need to sell as well in order to stave off FFP. And with Shelvey’s discipline problems he just became a prime candidate for moving on from Newcastle United. This means a month of transfer rumours and a possible new transfer, netting Barnett a healthy commission.

4. Rafa Benitez

How nice it will be for Rafa Benitez to be able to put out an XI of players that he can trust to not be catastrophically stupid. An XI he can trust will know where and when to back off, when to push, and basically who won’t play with a recklessness that is bound to end up in a red card. Benitez can now send Newcastle out against Arsenal with a cohesive and coherent game plan.