A Rising Star, but what would be best for him next season?

Kenny Dalglish seems to have a lot of faith in Reds midfielder Jonjo Shelvey. Since he took over in January, the youngster has made a fair few substitute appearances, and even after he was sidelined with a lengthy injury, he returned to action last month and was again used frequently by King Kenny as an impact sub.

Certainly it can be said that Jonjo is physically mature beyond his years. Anyone looking at the midfielder would think he was not just 19 years of age, and it is apparent that he can cope with the physical demands of the Premier League. But what about his technical skills? Although Jonjo is not necessarily the most skilful of players, he definitely has a very good passing range which will hold him in good stead for the future.

Two such examples I can remember off the top of my head was when he started in the away match against Napoli in the group stages of the Europa League. He was composed on the ball all night, and showed maturity beyond his years, and I remember most vividly him crossing an excellent ball from the left hand side, only for David Ngog to fail to work the keeper.

The second example came against Fulham on Monday night. He came on to play on the right hand side after Raul Meireles’s second half injury, and he looked slightly uncomfortable in the position. Proactively, Kenny switched Dirk Kuyt from his striker role onto the right hand side, and allowed Shelvey to play in his more natural role behind the striker. It didn’t take long for the 19 year old to settle in to the position as he carved out an excellent through ball for Luis Suarez who expertly rounded the keeper and finished for the fifth goal for Liverpool.