After Newcastle United stormed their way back into the Premier League by winning the Championship last season, many may have thought that the club would be able to retain their top-flight status comfortably.
However, that has been far from the case as the Magpies currently sit just two points above the relegation zone despite being positioned in 13th place.
Rafael Benitez’s team scored a mammoth 85 league goals in the 2016-17 campaign, but in the top tier, they have only managed 20 in 22 matches.
Jonjo Shelvey has been a Newcastle player since 2016 when he joined from Swansea City, but there are reports that he could be on the way out of the St James’ Park exit gates.
According to The Express, talks have been held about a possible £12m switch to West Ham United before the month is out.
Before that, though, the midfielder could be in the lineup to face his former club Swansea on Saturday.
Ahead of the match, the 25-year-old spoke frankly about Newcastle’s situation.
The Shields Gazette quotes Shelvey as saying:
“As soon as I found out Newcastle were interested, there was only one place to go, but obviously I don’t want to see them go down, because I want to play against them and I have mates in their team. But football is a cut-throat business, and I would rather we stayed up than them. It’s a relegation battle that we’re in, and whoever comes out on top will be the worthy winners.”
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