Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez has said there is “no chance” of Jonjo Shelvey leaving St James’ Park as part of a swap deal involving Tom Cairney.
It comes after a newspaper story claimed that Fulham manager Claudio Ranieri would be ready to part with Cairney in exchange for midfielder Shelvey.
The story also claimed that Pedro Obiang of West Ham could be an alternative option for a swap deal involving Cairney when the transfer window reopens next month.
“No. No chance. He (Shelvey) is an important player for us,” Benitez said at a press conference on Friday afternoon.
“Ki [Sung-yueng] and him are the players who technically can pass the ball well and keep it, they give confidence to the rest of the team. I hope he will be as important as he was last year.”
Newcastle and West Ham have both previously expressed an interest in Cairney, who has not been a first-team regular since Ranieri took over as Whites boss.
This post was last modified on 28/12/2018