£5million man already looking like an astute acquisition
While it's very early on to be making such a call, I'll admit to already feeling like I've got a little egg on my face. As previous posts will attest to, I wasnt' that enthused with the idea of signing the ex-Charlton midfielder for a fee around the £5mil mark, however from the (limited) highlights we've seen of the recently-completed Dutch tour it seems he's already bringing something new to the team that we've been lacking in recent years.
Since the departure of Ferrie Bodde, the Swans have lacked a midfielder capable of spotting (and more importantly playing) a killer pass, be it when we're breaking from deep or simply when a player has found space on the opposite flank. Early signs seem good - against Den Haag his exquisite pass found Wayne Routledge who clipped the ball over the keeper for the only goal of the game, while another example of his range of passing could be found earlier in the tour, when he played a lovely ball with the outside of his boot from right to left, finding Rory Donnelly in space out wide (before the youngster finished with aplomb).
When I first compared Shelvey to Bodde a friend asked whether he seems more like a Darren Pratley type of player (but with added passing ability), but Jonjo himself has come out and said he'd prefer to play in a deeper role, dictating play whilst bursting forward occasionally. Where we'll see him line up is down to Laudrup and we'll have to wait and see where the Dane prefers him, but I'd be surprised if we didn't see an increase in the amount of counter-attacks started by a quick ball forward from midfield. We've had plenty of pace to exploit for a while now, but sadly the service hasn't always been there.
Whether Shelvey can replicate Bodde's shooting ability remains to be seen, but apparently he had a go from halfway against Den Haag! Still a way to go, Jonjo...