Eddie Howe says Newcastle United will now look to replace Jonjo Shelvey after the player agreed to join Nottingham Forest in permanent deal. The Toon boss said he did not want to lose Shelvey but had to respect the wishes of the midfielder.
Shelvey wanted a longer contract and Forest were prepared to offer him a deal for two and a half years. Howe, speaking at his press conference ahead of the Southampton game in the League Cup semi-final, said today: "Jonjo has had injuries this season and certainly I would not want to lose him. But I have to understand again, similar to Chris Wood, the player's wishes with his contract coming to an end.
"It will be very difficult to keep Jonjo currently. With where he wants his career to go. We can keep players who want to leave. There is nothing to say that every player that wants to leave you have to let go. But you have to take every situation independently and try to judge everything, judge what is best for him and the club.
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"This is a very difficult situation. From a footballing perspective, I definitely want to keep Jonjo, I rate him highly but then there's his situation to think about. Jonjo I believe is talking to Nottingham Forest, I don't know what stage that is at.
"Jonjo has been a huge player for this football club over the last seven years, he has been an important part of my squad since I have been here."
When asked about replacing Shelvey, Howe said he did not really want him to go but will aim to replace him: "From a football decision, absolutely not and we will see what we can do in the market to try to bring a player," added Howe.
"There's no guarantee on that. With other transfers, we will try and see what we can do. In terms of permanent signings that will be very difficult, we will look at a loan situation but it has to be the right player."
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