After rumours linking him to West Ham have been a regular occurrence over the past few weeks, the Chronicle have revealed today that Rafa Benitez has no intention of selling Jonjo Shelvey – with the club set to rebuff all attempts from West Ham United this month.
Several national newspapers have suggested that Shelvey has been edging closer to a move to the Hammers this month, however the Chronicle have made it categorically clear this morning that Rafa Benitez does not plan on selling him this month – and especially not to a relegation rival in West Ham.
Interestingly, they claim that Newcastle have held a ‘tentative interest’ in West Ham pair Javier Hernandez and Diafra Sakho, but they state that ‘Benitez does not envisage any significant direct transfers between bottom-half clubs taking place before next Wednesday’s deadline’.
They do state that it would take a ‘sizeable offer’ for us to even contemplate selling Shelvey this month, however they make it clear that Benitez will NOT sell to a relegation rival and would only consider any massive bid for the midfielder if a replacement was already signed (and only one who he would deem better than Shelvey).
This makes sense. Shelvey is not irreplaceable, but it’d be mad to sell to a relegation rival or without a replacement being found beforehand. For all his flaws, he is a key player and one of the most talented players in our side.
