The Magpies man played for the Under-23s against Fulham on Friday night and scored the winner for his side.
Jonjo Shelvey won many plaudits from the Newcastle United fanbase after requesting to play for the Under-23s on Friday night against Fulham in a bid to step up his recovery from a long-term thigh injury.
The midfielder has made only eight Premier League starts this season, and his most recent appearance came in the 1-1 FA Cup third-round draw with Blackburn Rovers in January for a total of just 101 minutes of football since November 3 (Sky Sports News).
“The England international, who recently recovered from a thigh injury, has requested to play for United’s second string in the 7pm (GMT) kickoff,” Newcastle wrote on Twitter on Friday ahead of the game against Fulham U23s.
Shelvey began for the Magpies at the Cottagers’ Motspur Park and was substituted just after the hour mark, but not before meeting Tom Allan’s cross with a diving header to give his side the lead and eventually a 1-0 win.
On Saturday morning, however, a report in The Telegraph stated that, despite reassurances from manager Rafael Benitez that he remains part of his long-term plans, the 27-year-old is likely to leave St James’ Park at the end of the season.
In addition, the report adds that Shelvey was reportedly told he would not be part of the matchday squad for the game against West Ham on Saturday, the Hammers themselves having previously been linked with the player and deemed “likely to test Newcastle’s resolve to hold on to him in the summer”.
Could Newcastle be on the brink of losing a player whose request on Friday led to some fans praising him, with such Twitter fan comments as “the type of attitude I want at our club” and “great attitude – exactly what is required“?
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