Jonjo Shelvey has vowed that he will 'never have a bad word to say' about anyone at Newcastle United after making the 'difficult' decision to leave the club.
Shelvey completed his move to Nottingham Forest on deadline day following seven years at St James' Park. Although Eddie Howe was 'devastated' to lose Shelvey, the Newcastle boss respected the player's wishes to join Forest after he entered the final few months of his contract with the Magpies.
It was rather telling that the deal was only formally announced after Shelvey had the chance to bid farewell to his former team-mates as well as staff and supporters after the playmaker attended Newcastle's Carabao Cup semi-final second-leg win against Southampton last Tuesday night. Shelvey addressed the group in the dressing room after that 2-1 win and spoke 'from the heart' about his time at the club after making the tough call to move on.
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"It was a difficult one because my kids are settled there in school so it's a hard decision to make, but I felt like I needed a fresh start," he told Forest TV in his first interview since the move. "I loved my time at Newcastle. I will never ever have a bad word to say about anyone at the club. I've got a lot of friends there on and off the pitch that I've made and formed friendships that will last a lifetime.
"But I felt, for me, personally, I needed to come away from it and get myself a new challenge. I still feel I've got many years left in me so I wanted to come away and really put my football knowledge and experience to another club."
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