Shelvey slips further down order

JONJO SHELVEY is now the fifth-choice midfielder for Newcastle, according to boss Rafa Benitez.

And while his Toon team-mates face West Ham today bidding for a third successive win, Shelvey will be recovering from a run-out with the Under-23s last night.

Shelvey volunteered to play with the kids and Benitez was happy to oblige with the out-in-the-cold star not in his plans at the London Stadium.

It’s a remarkable comedown for a player who was being touted for Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squad 12 months ago.

But with rising star Sean Longstaff and Isaac Hayden in excellent form, there’s no easy route back into the first team for Shelvey.

And even a place on the bench looks a long shot right now with Mo Diame and Ki Sung-yueng ahead of him as the Magpies’ back-up midfielders.

Asked why Shelvey, fit after a thigh injury, was not in the squad for the third game in a row, Toon chief Benitez said: “It is very easy.

“You have seen Longstaff and Hayden doing well and still you have Ki and Diame who are ahead of him and they are not in the team.

“So you have five midfielders for two positions.

“You cannot pick more than 18 players so someone has to stay out and that is my problem to decide. People may say, ‘Yes but Jonjo could be’ but Ki has the quality and Diame the physicality.

“So for him to go ahead of them, he has to do really well and be the right one.”

Hayden’s return to form is unlikely to prevent him leaving in the summer.

The former Arsenal youngster is keen on a move back south for personal reasons and Newcastle won’t stand in his way. But Shelvey’s Toon career is on a knife edge too.

He is under contract but won’t want to stay at a club where he is nothing more than a bit-part player.

In contrast, Longstaff ’s remarkable rise has seen him nominated for Premier League Player of the Month, an astonishing achievement in itself considering the Geordie only made his first start in late December.

He is up against Sergio Aguero, Paul Pogba and Virgil van Dijk but even so, his manager believes he’s deserving of the top award.

Benitez added: “I think he has to win when you compare the other players with him.

“It’s a big, big credit for him to be there.

“You have to give him credit not just because of how he plays but also the way he is handling the situation, the way that he is so focused and stays so humble.”