Newcastle’s Shelvey snubbed by Southgate on the latest England squad

England’s first national team squad of 2020 has been announced and didn’t include the in-form Newcastle United midfielder.

England will take on Denmark and Iceland in early September as a part of the UEFA Nations League. Ahead of the return on the Three Lions, Gareth Southgate has announced his 24-man squad for the matches. There are some new faces and some mainstays in the squad, but one Newcastle United midfielder didn’t get a well-deserved call-up.

Jonjo Shelvey had his best season yet for Newcastle in 2019/20. He provided his usual contribution of spraying passes all over the pitch and also included a goalscoring touch, scoring six times in the Premier League to lead the Magpies. The 28-year-old added two assists in league play, too. When Jamaal Lascelles missed matches due to injury, Shelvey often inherited the captain’s armband and left the anger issues that plagued him in the past. Southgate elected to ignore Shelvey’s peak form and exclude him from next month’s matchups. Shelvey’s last call-up came back in 2015.

Players like Kalvin Phillips and James Ward-Prowse received nods over Shelvey. Phillips was a star for Leeds United last season, but that all came in the second division for the 24-year-old. If excelling in the Championship earns a call-up, Dwight Gayle would’ve been a lock for the past few years. Ward-Prowse played 12 more matches in the EPL last campaign than Shelvey and had one less goal, only one more assist, and 62 fewer accurate long balls.

Shelvey’s impact goes well beyond the stat sheet, as you know. He has the unique ability to pick out long-range passes and pull the strings from the middle of the park. With exciting attacking players around him like Raheem Sterling, Harry Kane, and others, Shelvey would flourish. But, alas, another Newcastle United player is ignored on the bigger stage.