Jonjo Shelvey is facing long way back into Newcastle team

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Newcastle United boss Steve Bruce has taken a look at midfielder Jonjo Shelvey at the beginning of the season, but it appears like he’s fallen down the pecking order and faces an uphill struggle this season for regular minutes.

The central midfielder has played in half of the eight Premier League games so far, as well as the Carabao Cup penalty defeat to Leicester City.

But a lot of those matches appear to have passed him by in the centre of the park and he’s not been able to be a commanding figure.

The 27-year-old is now an experienced player at top-flight level and he’s got an incredible range of passing, but he’s not doing enough to warrant a regular spot in the team.

Shelvey was an unused substitute at the weekend in the 1-0 win over Manchester United and his chances of regular starts after the international break look slim.

Sean Longstaff and brother Matty Longstaff were excellent as a midfield combination against Manchester United, which is why it would be no surprise to see the pair play together again and build a solid partnership moving forward.

There is also the added complication of Isaac Hayden to return from suspension and also Ki Sung-Yueng to compete for a central midfield position.

Shelvey quite simply isn’t providing enough creativity going forward when he plays and doesn’t have the defensive discipline, so will have to really catch the eye in training to get back in Bruce’s good books.