Shelvey Proves the Need for Domestic Buys
After the Magpies gave the midfielder an escape route out of his quickly-developing nightmare in South Wales, he went on to sparkle in his debut in the 2-1 win over West Ham United.
Shelvey ran the show in midfield, and had a big part to play in both of Newcastle’s goals, with a particularly sensational pass to play in Daryl Janmaat for the second.
Fellow new signing Henri Saivet also came into the action for the last 20 minutes or so. The former Bordeaux man did okay, but did look a little shaky. There and then it proved the need for Newcastle to sign the likes of Shelvey in order to ensure the club avoid’s dropping into the Championship.
The purchase of a Premier League proven player to slot straight into the midfield worked wonders on Saturday, he looked like he’d been part of that XI for years.
He was confident both with and without the ball, instructing his teammates where to play the ball, who to mark, and where to go. As far as debut performances go it was a very, very impressive one.
Saivet on the other looks like he’ll need time to adapt, as the case always is with players brought in from abroad. The likes of Yohan Cabaye and Mathieu Debuchy needed a few games to find their feet, the likes of Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa simply never found them at all.
Moussa Sissoko and, more recently, Georginio Wijnaldum, both hit the ground running, but faded soon after for several games before getting intro their stride.
It’s not his fault of course, he could well turn out to be a great player in time, and that’s fine. But in our precarious position we needed players who could come straight in and produce performances here and now, like Shelvey has.
Of course it’s only been one game, but the signs were hugely encouraging.
Townsend and Berahino are names which continue to be linked with moves to Newcastle, and although their price tags are very steep, if they were to make the moves up north, I’d expect you’d see an impact almost straight away.
Newcastle couldn’t afford to be cautious with their transfers anymore, and purchase players from abroad on the cheap and hope they’ll develop into a real asset, and those in charge of transfers were aware of it too.
Shelvey seems to be exactly the type of player we need to pull us to safety, and I was thrilled to see him play so well on Saturday.
Here’s hoping for a similar performance and result at Watford this weekend!
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