According to The Sun, Fulham are keen on swapping captain Tom Cairney for Newcastle’s Jonjo Shelvey as the Scotsman has fallen out of favour under Claudio Ranieri, who feels that a holding midfielder must be brought in as soon as possible.
Magpies boss Rafa Benitez is a long term admirer of Cairney’s and the Tyneside outfit have lodged bids for the midfielder before, while Shelvey has made just nine appearances this season – former Leicester boss Ranieri wants to bring Shelvey to Craven Cottage in order to add some steel to a soft midfield and give the Englishman a fresh start.
Meanwhile, Newcastle are in desperate need of a creative midfielder and have hit a pretty big stumbling block in their pursuit of Miguel Almiron with Atlanta demanding in excess of £30m for the Paraguayan – a fee Mike Ashley surely won’t provide – Cairney could prove to be a smart signing if he can provide some invention for the likes of Salomon Rondon, but it can’t come at the expense of Shelvey.
Benitez will surely be fuming if Newcastle director Lee Charnley pulls the trigger on this crazy switch – it could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back for the Spaniard and he may finally leave.
What do you think, Newcastle fans? Should the club swap Jonjo Shelvey for Tom Cairney? Let us know by voting in the poll below…
