Micky Gray claims Newcastle United midfielder Jonjo Shelvey is a ‘loner’

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Newcastle United suffered a home defeat to Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.

Micky Gray has labled Newcastle United midfielder Jonjo Shelvey as a ‘loner’ and claimed that manager Rafa Benitez doesn’t think he can ‘rely’ upon him on a regular basis.

The 27-year-old has seen his game time at St James’ Park reduced in recent months, with the likes of Ki Seung-Yeung and Sean Longstaff, prior to his injury, pulling ahead of him in the midfield pecking order.

On Saturday, Shelvey came on as a late second-half substitute for Ki as the Magpies ended up losing 1-0 at home to fellow strugglers Crystal Palace.

Speaking to Matchday Live on talkSPORT (06/04/2019 at 2:15 pm), former Sunderland player Gray offered his thoughts on Shelvey being left out of the starting XI by Benitez once again.

“When you look at Shelvey and you see some of the through balls and assists he brings to the team then yes, of course, he is going to be a miss,” Gray told talkSPORT. “But I’m certain if he doesn’t get back into that Newcastle team then there will be a lot of clubs out there who will be looking for that type of player in Shelvey.

“I don’t know what his personality is like off the field, he looks to be a bit of a loner. That’s me from the outside looking in. So, I don’t know if that’s true or not. But Rafa has obviously got a bee in his bonnet about him and maybe he doesn’t think he can rely on him on a regular basis.”

Last season, Shelvey was a key player for Benitez as he helped them secure an unlikely top 10 finish in the Premier League by providing that extra bit of magic from the middle of the park.

But during this campaign, he has not started a league game since November as Newcastle have seemingly coped without him and seen the rise of academy graduate Longstaff as a result of him being left out.

It remains to be seen if the former England international will be at St James’ Park next season as Benitez is one win away from all but confirming the club’s status in England’s top-flight for next season.