Towards the end of last season, the form of Jonjo Shelvey and Mo Diame in the Newcastle midfield made the pair undroppable. However, after signing Sung-yeung Ki on a free over the summer there’s a new dynamic to the Newcastle midfield, especially seeing as Diame has been diabolical and Shelvey missed the Bournemouth win with an injury.
I have to agree to an extent, it's a very different midfield dynamic with the way he plays. He played some amazing long diagonal balls at times himself, but the entire feel of our play was different. I hope they're able to play well together. They have done in the past. #NUFC https://t.co/sOqR96ioNt
— NUFC360 (@NUFC360) November 13, 2018
It now looks like Rafa Benitez will be suffering some selection headaches for the coming matches against Burnley and West Ham. Both of the clashes are winnable games and getting the midfield balance will be crucial if Rafa is to extend his club’s two-game winning run to four matches. A change of system could even be on the cards for The Magpies, and the fans have all been eager to share their views.
The debate between Ki and Shelvey is made even more interesting as the pair featured together in their Swansea days in multiple systems. A midfield three could be on the cards for The Geordies, although it would see Rafa sacrifice his number ten to solidify the middle. For the fans, as long as they have Salomon Rondon scoring goals and a creative midfield behind him then there’s no reason why they would be against dropping their number ten role to accommodate a midfield with both Ki and Shelvey in.
You can see what The Magpies’ make of their midfield issues here:
I would play him ahead of shelvey, we play so much better with ki in the middle as he keeps the ball instead of looking for 70 yard pass.
— steven jane (@jingo1986) November 13, 2018
https://twitter.com/steNconnolly/status/1062273880679694342
I personally don’t think it’s that simple. Shelvey is an important battler defensively, and one of our most creative in final third.
Both him and Ki can execute long range passing well, which are great weapons.
I don’t want to dismiss Shelvey after 1.5 good games by Ki.
— The Toon Network (@TheToonNetwork) November 13, 2018
https://twitter.com/DavidBaty1981/status/1062262337908998144
Diame is hump
— Narcoleptic (@narcolepticken) November 13, 2018
https://twitter.com/sparxx/status/1062266486767697921
Its a hard one to call, but just like our centre backs it's nice to see a bit of choice for Rafa.
— Keith Johnson (@Big_J316) November 13, 2018
They’ve successfully played as part of a 3 at Swansea so to fit them both in you’d need that sort of system, be it 3-5-2 or 4-3-3
— Daryl Mitchelhill (@DarylM87) November 13, 2018
The Geordies will be looking forward to seeing how Rafa sets up his side at Turf Moor in two weeks time and will hope their side can adapt to utilise their two in-form midfield men.
