Rafa Benitez heaps praise on Jonjo Shelvey
Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez has heaped praise on Jonjo Shelvey, claiming the midfielder should be in the England squad, Chronicle Live report.
The 26-year-old has been described by many as one of the best passers in the Premier League, but was overlooked by Gareth Southgate in his squad for the World Cup over the summer and again in his latest squad for the Three Lions’ opening UEFA Nations League fixture against Spain.
The midfielder has missed Newcastle’s last three games due to injury, however, ahead of the game against Arsenal, club boss Benitez was full of praise for Shelvey when asked if he should be considered for an England spot.
He has the quality, he has the vision and he can make the passes that the strikers like, in behind the defenders and things like that.
Can he play for England? Yes.
Shelvey has also been accused by many in the game of having a bad attitude across his career, however, Benitez was again full of praise for the former Liverpool man, believing he has matured during his time at St James Park.
Who signed Jonjo for Liverpool? Me. He was a young player with a lot of talent. You could see the potential there.
Since then, he has played a lot of Premier League games and has more experience. He is more mature and more focussed on what he needs to do. He knows when he was making mistakes.
If you were doing ten things wrong with him and 20 things right, now it is five wrong and 25 right. So he is getting better because he is more mature.