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Pellegrini plotting to pair Shelvey with Rice

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West Ham United manager Manuel Pellegrini is plotting a summer move for Newcastle United midfielder Jonjo Shelvey, according to the Northern Echo.

The newspaper claims that the Chilean is a big admirer of the 184-game Premier League veteran and wants to pair him with Hammers starlet Declan Rice in central midfield.

The East London outfit made a number of enquiries regarding the England international in January, but were rebuffed by the Magpies. Pellegrini, however, remains determined to revisit the issue in the summer.

The former Manchester City boss is expected to receive a significant transfer fund yet again and there is a decent chance he could secure Shelvey’s signature given that the player has plummeted down the pecking order at St James’ Park in recent months.

OPINION

This is a rumour that just won’t go away, isn’t it? The idea of pairing Shelvey with Rice is intriguing, though. It would appear that the two players’ skill-sets mix pretty well, with Rice bringing the tenacity and defensive awareness and Shelvey the vision and technical ability. What’s good is that they can both do a bit of what the other can do as well, meaning that the pair of them cover all bases in the middle of the park. The Newcastle man is an experienced Premier League player, but you still get the sense that there is more to come from him. There’s a chance that the more attack-minded Pellegrini could end up getting more out of him than Rafael Benitez. The Magpies will probably demand a fairly hefty sum for such a talented player, but by the sounds of it that will be no problem for West Ham. At this point it would be a bit of a surprise if the former Swansea City man isn’t wearing claret and blue next season.

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