Newcastle manager Steve Bruce is reportedly eager to resolve Jonjo Shelvey’s future at the club ahead of the January transfer window, with the midfielder’s current contract set to expire in 2021.
The 27-year-old’s goals and
Shelvey recently spoke of his desire to play European football in the club’s black and white stripes and, with West Ham’s lingering interest a concern, Bruce is reportedly prioritising a new contract for the midfielder.
As reported by The Telegraph, Bruce is eager to organise a new deal for the player he has entrusted with the captain’s armband in Jamaal Lascelles absence.
While Rafa Benitez seemed reluctant to rely on Shelvey at times, his successor has made him a key part of his plans and continues to reap the rewards. The Spaniard deployed Shelvey just 16 times last season, but he has featured in 12 games under Bruce thus far and already surpassed the number of Newcastle victories he was involved in during the entirety of the 2018/19 season.
It’s not just Shelvey that’s enjoying life under Bruce, with Newcastle fans are far happier than they expected to be once he was confirmed as Benitez’s successor.
Just one game from the season’s halfway mark, the Magpies sit ninth in the Premier League and mathematically closer to the Champions League places than the relegation zone. Saturday’s victory over Crystal Palace was Newcastle’s seventh of the season and took their tally to 25 points – just four behind fourth-placed Chelsea.
Newcastle amassed just 12 wins en route to 45 points in 2018/19, meaning that if Bruce can sustain their first half form in the latter part of the season then he will eclipse the Tyneside achievements of the much-loved Benitez.
Let’