Nottingham Forest allowed Jonjo Shelvey to join Rizespor on Thursday and yesterday he was thrust straight into action. The midfielder has moved out on a season-long loan after falling out of favour on Trentside.
Shelvey only signed for Forest in January. He joined after a long association at Newcastle but a falling out with Steve Cooper ensured he only made eight appearances.
Things came to a head ahead of a game against Liverpool back in April. Shelvey took offence to being told he would only be on the bench at Anfield and Cooper decided to leave him out altogether.
The 31-year-old hasn’t played for Forest since that debacle. He spent the summer training and playing friendlies with the B-Team as the club tried to hook him up with a move.
With time running out, the Reds did manage to get Shelvey out. Rizespor came with an offer ahead of the deadline in Turkey and Forest were keen for him to take the opportunity.
The experienced performer was introduced into the action with just 16 minutes remaining. That was all it took for him to make an immediate impact with his new team.
Shelvey played a delightful ball into the path of Adolfo Gaich who scored the winning goal; giving the Forest-owned player an assist on his first appearance for the club.
Shelvey will fancy his chances of performing on a regular basis in a league with less quality than the Premier League. His days in the English top-flight look to be numbered though. As a result, Forest did brilliantly to offload the £70,000-a-week player.