There is a strange way that football works, often coming back to bite you in the back when you least expect it. Brendan Rodgers might be feeling the heat based on the performances of Liverpool but it is an old boy who is stirring up a lot of trouble for the Liverpool manager at the moment.
Down by the coast of Wales, a 23-year-old midfielder has started the season on fire and even had a brilliant game in a Euro 2016 qualifier; we are of course talking about Jonjo Shelvey. The bald wizard has started this season like he has a point to prove, especially to Gary Monk and while he may be putting in great performances at Swansea, questions are being asked about his transfer away from the Reds.
Always had the potential and finally is flourishing
Jonjo joined Liverpool from Charlton in 2010 for a paltry sum of £1.7 million; he was tracked by quite a few clubs but eventually joined the Reds. Shelvey didn’t get a lot of chances to prove his quality at the club but did play 47 games for the club in 3 years before being shipped off to Swansea.
In 2013, he signed with the Welsh club for £5 million and after a slow start, he showed his started showing his true ability in the second half of last season and well this season has been his for the taking. Rodgers might have lost out on a few targets and the loss of Steven Gerrard has left a huge void in the club.
Shelvey is the man who was picked to be Gerrard’s replacement sometime in the future, but that hasn’t happened as the English midfielder has penned a contract extension with the Swans. Shelvey though, according to reports was called by Rodgers as he was making his way to Swansea to sign the deal. Rodgers did want him to stay, but Jonjo did the right thing for his career at that time.
There was no guarantee of Jonjo playing regular football for Liverpool and moving to another club was an option, but selling him in hindsight wasn’t the right call. Jonjo always had the talent but had a reputation for being a bit of a short fuse in the team and that was for all to see when he got sent off against Manchester United at Anfield and even had a little spat with Sir Alex Ferguson.
Cue a few years later, he has matured a bit, though there still were grumblings by Monk on Shelvey’s lack of discipline. Rodgers may or may not have had the final say in Shelvey’s transfer, but the midfielder would never have played regularly for Liverpool and to help his growth into the footballer that he is, he had to be at a club which would give him the opportunity to play every week.
Swansea were that club and now are getting the rewards for taking a bit of a risk with the young lad, who has become a man now. It is his prerogative to continue playing at this level and hopefully make it big. Liverpool supporters might hope that the club had inserted a buy-back clause when they sold Shelvey to Swansea, another player with potential left Liverpool, where have we heard that before?
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