Shelvey has the skills for Southgate

BY ALL accounts, Jonjo Shelvey must play an awful lot of good football to even get on the fringes of Gareth Southgate’s England reckoning, but his performance here constituted a good start. The Newcastle midfielder began last season by getting sent off against Tottenham at St James’ Park for treading on Dele Alli. A year on, Shelvey made sure he was noticeable only for his football. Southgate has reservations about the modest number of assists Shelvey provides, but against Spurs the 26-year-old was at the heart of much of any good football that Newcastle played. The midfielder’s first thought is always to move the ball forwards, and I really like that. Here, his short and long passing was brave and more often than not very accurate. He really does have an impressive range. Shelvey will have to keep his nose clean to persuade Southgate he is worth a look. Has he got the skills to play at the very top level? I think he has.