What is going on with Jonjo Shelvey?

Jonjo Shelvey has recovered from a thigh injury he obtained in early November, but he is far from looking like his old self.

After spending several weeks recovering from an injury, it is great to see Jonjo Shelvey back in action for Newcastle United. With Ki Sung-yueng leaving to join his national team for a month-long tournament, Shelvey’s return comes at the perfect time.

Shelvey has made two appearances for Newcastle over the course of five days when he came on as a substitute against Watford and Manchester United. While it is nice having Shelvey back in the squad, I cannot help but notice that the mercurial midfielder is not playing at an elite level. Now I know some of you will respond to that statement by saying he is still rusty from sitting out for so long, but I think something else is going on here.

Good Offensively, Poor Defensively

Rafa Benitez’s preferred formation is 4-2-3-1 and as a result Shelvey plays an integral role for the team as a central defensive midfielder. The reason why Shelvey is so important for the Magpies is because he is required to help the back-line when needed and orchestrate the attack when bodies are moving forward.

Shelvey has been solid in both roles over his professional career, but his lack of urgency and poor body language in the last two matches raises some concerns. Yes, Shelvey made some impressive passes and threatened David De Gea from distance, but my concerns are centered on his defensive form.

Against Watford, Matt Ritchie and Jonjo Shelvey were both to blame for the late goal that Newcastle conceded. The Magpies would have returned to Tyneside with three much-deserved points from a massive game on the road, but lazy defending from Ritchie and Shelvey ruined all of that. Shelvey did not even try to mark or follow Abdoulaye Doucoure as he ran into the penalty area to score the easiest header of his career. Moreover, Shelvey simply turned around after the goal was scored showing no frustration despite Fabian Schar screaming at him for the costly mistake.

Against Manchester United, Shelvey had a better overall performance and this could be because he came on as a substitute in the 53rd minute. However, despite his offensive form that was mentioned earlier in this article, Shelvey did not play well defensively. For starters, Shelvey could have received a straight red card for his sliding tackle on Paul Pogba and that suspension would have left Newcastle in shambles with Ki gone and Mohamed Diame leaving the match with an injury.

Furthermore, Shelvey deserves some blame for the goal scored by Marcus Rashford. Looking carefully at a replay of the goal, Shelvey could have tracked Rashford down on two occasions as the striker sprinted toward the box from midfield, but he chose not to. Shelvey simply jogged back, stopped, jogged some more and then stopped outside of the 18-yard box. To make matters worse, his body language after the goal was scored did not go unnoticed as he simply shrug off the goal and turned around.

This is unacceptable from a player who is considered to be the star of the team. With a weekly wage of £70,000, Shelvey needs to show his worth and clean up his act. Rust is one thing, but being lazy when your team is in a relegation battle is just not acceptable.