LIVERPOOL SET FOR SHELVEY CAPTURE

Liverpool look set to sign highly-rated Charlton midfielder Jonjo Shelvey after the League One club gave them permission to hold talks with the 18-year-old.

The transfer seems to be moving along quickly, with Shelvey having already completed his medical after travelling to Merseyside on Tuesday. The initial fee looks set to be around £1.7 million, with future add-ons for the London club depending on how the player progresses.

Ever since Shelvey became the youngster ever first-team player for Charlton aged 16, there has been much talk about where his future might lie. Now, having made 48 appearances for the Addicks, it looks as though he will be making a massive career move to the Premier League.

Charlton manager Phil Parkinson described Shelvey as an “excellent prospect” when the youngster signed a new contact on his 17th birthday last year and he also claimed there weren’t many better players of his age in the English game.

With this in mind, it seems fair to say that Parkinson will be sad to see the player leave. However, he isn’t one to deny Shelvey a move to a club such as Liverpool and it seems Parkinson is looking to ensure that Charlton benefit from the deal as much as possible.

Other than the financial agreement, talks have begun between the clubs about a “strategic partnership” for the development of players from both clubs. Meaning, that if all is agreed, Charlton could well get some highly-rated loan players from Liverpool next season. This would no doubt see Charlton’s promotion odds tumble next term no matter which league they find themselves in.

For now though, Charlton need to focus on the current campaign as there is still a lot to play for. They still have an outside chance of achieving automatic promotion, but it is more likely that they will be taking part in the end of season play-offs in a bid to reach the Championship once again.

Wherever they are playing their football at the start of next season though, it will almost certainly be without one of their best ever prospects, Jonjo Shelvey.

Meanwhile, as the World Cup approaches Ruud Van Nistelrooy has given his backing to England.

He praised the skills of manager Fabio Capello and suggested the side can win with or without Wayne Rooney. Currently, England are third favourites in the World Cup betting.

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