There were high-fives and hugs all round last month as Newcastle’s players celebrated securing a first Wembley final since 1999 when Callum Wilson smuggled Jonjo Shelvey, doing his best to keep a low profile having signed for Nottingham Forest that day, into the home dressing room for one last hurrah. Before kick-off against Southampton, Shelvey bid farewell to a sold-out St James’ Park and afterwards he addressed his former teammates and staff, some of whom he had shared the previous seven years with. “I’m not really an emotional person but the kids were a bit upset and the missus was crying when I walked out on to the pitch,” Shelvey says.
Wilson ensured Shelvey was part of the celebratory post-match squad photo, a tradition that has followed Eddie Howe to Tyneside and the Newcastle manager praised Shelvey for standing up for the club in dark times. How does the club Shelvey joined from Swansea in 2016 compare with the one he left behind on deadline day? “Massively different,” he says. “Last season when the owners took over they really came in and made their mark. They brought the manager in and he was brilliant for me personally. I had a great run of games last season, we got a great winning feeling and he really enhanced that within the club. I can only wish them every success.”
The day Newcastle were taken over by a Saudi Arabia-led consortium sticks in the memory. “I remember watching it on TV, on the news,” Shelvey says. “The city centre was just rammed – it was packed. You couldn’t drive into the city that day and for the next week or so everybody was just absolutely steaming … it was hard leaving but I can’t say I regret leaving. I’m happy for whatever they [Newcastle] do. I hope they win the final and get into Europe.”
Forest’s schedule allows Shelvey to attend the Carabao Cup final with friends. “We play West Ham on the Saturday away, so it fits in quite nice,” he says. “I read somewhere the other day that I still get a medal if they win. It will be nice to go and watch them but I’m more looking forward to playing them [in March].” Shelvey has one cup winner’s medal from his time at Liverpool, from the 2011-12 campaign. “My brother has probably sold it on eBay though,” he says, laughing. “I only played once in the competition this year but I’ll still count it.”
It was not always clear that Shelvey, formerly Newcastle’s vice-captain, would depart for Forest, with Howe initially reluctant to let him leave. If Shelvey had made two more Premier League appearances he would have triggered a 12-month contract extension. “He said he couldn’t let me go at first and then I sort of pleaded with him to let me go,” Shelvey says. “He said he would sleep on it but then he said he would only let me go if they could get one in. I said I needed to leave for a fresh start and put my points across, and the next day he pulled me, we had a little chat and he granted my wish. Eddie said he wouldn’t stand in the way of my happiness.”
The Forest head coach, Steve Cooper, has been an admirer of what he calls Shelvey’s desire “not to coast through games” since their paths crossed at Liverpool, where Cooper worked in the academy. Two of Cooper’s assistants at Forest, Alan Tate and Andy Reid, played with Shelvey at Swansea and Charlton respectively. Reid recalls, while Charlton’s captain, urging the then manager, Alan Pardew, to select Shelvey as a 15-year-old schoolboy such was his talent. “I see a lot in Eddie that I see in Steve Cooper as well,” Shelvey says. “They have both done so well.”
There are familiar faces in the squad too, in his former Newcastle teammates Chris Wood and Jack Colback, whom Shelvey grew to love. “I went into Newcastle and I sat down with my dad, and Jack was having breakfast,” he says. “My dad said: ‘You two are normally kicking the crap out of each other.’ We’d always had a little bit of aggro. I said: ‘Just make it a bit more awkward then, dad.’ We both started laughing and formed a really close relationship on and off the pitch.”
Shelvey’s season has been hampered by injuries – his only start came in the cup in November – but after overcoming a calf strain he is set to make his Forest debut at Fulham on Saturday, with Cooper hoping for back-to-back league wins after the victory over Leeds. Shelvey was one of a clutch of experienced players including André Ayew, 33, Keylor Navas, 36, and Felipe, 33, to sign in January and Cooper is adamant Shelvey’s top-flight knowledge will enhance Forest.
“I’ve been in this league a long time,” Shelvey says. “Someone in there [at training] was saying: ‘You’ve been around for years.’ I’m still only 30 – I don’t look it, I look about 40. I’ll always be there if anyone needs any advice. I’m not a massive communicator on the pitch – I try to lead by example.”
