Ex-West Ham United and Charlton Athletic man completes move to Millwall's Championship rivals

Millwall and Queens Park Rangers’ Championship rivals Burnley have completed a deal for ex-Charlton Athletic man Jonjo Shelvey.

The 32-year-old has agreed a deal until the end of the season after leaving Turkish Süper Lig side Eyüpspor. The midfielder who has also played for Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United, joins Burnley who face Plymouth Argyle, Leeds United and Portsmouth in their next three Championship games.

Shelvey started his career after joining Arsenal’s youth academy in 2001 before leaving for West Ham United in 2002. He departed the Hammers’ academy set-up in 2004 and joined Charlton before making his first-team debut for the club in 2008. The midfielder joined Liverpool from Charlton for a £1.7m fee in May 2010. He also had spells with Swansea City and Çaykur Rizespor.

Shelvey almost returned to West Ham

The now 32-year-old nearly returned to London in 2019 but Newcastle blocked a move to the Irons. Shelvey previously admitted it was tough to leave West Ham as a youngster as he had supported the club as a boy.

“I was close to leaving but the club [Newcastle] said ‘no’,” the midfielder said of the proposed switch to the Hammers. “I get labelled lazy maybe because of my body language; I’m quite laid-back. People can say what they want. But I’m the one who goes out there and trains every day as hard as I can. I’m playing for another contract at this club and I need to keep performing. I understand football’s changing and I’m evolving with it but stats are stats. You can run 15km if you like but I’m a footballer.”

Shelvey discusses Burnley move

“It feels amazing to get it done. It’s been quite a long process, but it’s all done now and I’m excited for it,” said Shelvey who had been training with the Turf Moor club for the past number of weeks. “I like the club as a whole, every time I have played against Burnley at Turf Moor it’s been tough, but I’m part of this team now and my aim is to do my best to help this club get back into the Premier League, where it belongs.

“It's just been nice being back in England and getting back into the swing of training and just trying to improve myself each day. Yeah, it's been great and I feel great. I mean, I've not stopped training. I've been back about three weeks in the country. Obviously, I've been training there for the last 10 days, and another week or so training back in Newcastle. So, I've been non-stop training and ready and raring to go.

On why he opted for Burnley, he added: “I like the club. I mean, every time I've played against Burnley, it's been a grind. So, it's a tough place to come and play football as an away player. But I've watched a few of their games and I like what they're doing. And just to be part of it and help the club get back into the Premier League.”