Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez urges England selectors not to ignore Championship

21:30
Jonjo Shelvey worthy of an England recall, says Rafael Benitez
Jonjo Shelvey worthy of an England recall, says Rafael Benitez

Rafael Benitez says England boss Sam Allardyce should not ignore the talent in the Sky Bet Championship.

The Newcastle manager has seen Jonjo Shelvey, who won the last of his six senior caps in November last year, rediscover his best form in the second tier in recent weeks, scoring twice - the second of them a stunning strike - in Tuesday's 6-0 demolition of Queens Park Rangers.

Asked if it was a realistic ambition for the 24-year-old midfielder, who sealed a £12m switch from Swansea to St James' Park in January, to win back his place in the England squad, the Spaniard said: "If he can keep his consistency now, if he can keep working as hard as he was working and playing at the level he has been playing, then why not?

"And not just him, any player. The Championship is a very good level now. There are a lot of good English players in this league.

"You don't have too many in the Premier League. Every year in every country - it's the same in Spain - everybody is complaining, saying there are too many foreign players coming and we don't have any space for the English players.

Newcastle win this week’s LG Performance of the Week award for their 6-0 win at QPR

"You have fewer in the Premier League, but you have more in the Championship."

As well as Shelvey, Aston Villa starlet Jack Grealish has been identified as a future talent after opting to represent England rather than the Republic of Ireland.

While seven members of the 22-strong U20 squad which lost 2-1 to Brazil earlier this month are currently with Championship clubs.

Asked if Allardyce should take note of what's happening below the Premier League, Benitez added: "You have a lot of media, TV and people at the game who can give you reports, so if someone scores a goal like Jonjo did at QPR and everybody is talking about him, then I'm sure he will have the information to see if Jonjo can stay at this level, or if any of the other players can."

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Source : skysports[dot]com

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