Jonjo Shelvey ready to repay price tag after Newcastle move

Jonjo Shelvey admits he is "a fortunate boy" to secure a move to Newcastle and is eager to start repaying his price tag.

The midfielder is in contention to feature against West Ham on Saturday after completing his move from Swansea on Tuesday in a deal believed to be worth £12m.

Shelvey felt his attitude was called into question by Swans interim boss Alan Curtis, and the midfielder has not completed 90 minutes in the Premier League since November.

The 23-year-old is now looking forward to kick-starting his career at Newcastle, and admits he's fortunate to get an opportunity at the club.

"If you would have told me I'd be playing for Newcastle at the end of the season after starting the year at Swansea, I'd have said you were crazy," Shelvey told Sky Sports News HQ.

"I'm a very fortunate boy that a massive club like Newcastle showed an interest and were prepared to pay the money to get me. It's down to me to repay that price tag.

"I knew it was a big club but I didn't know the extent of how big it is. Being at the game the other night and driving around the city you see how much people love football. You're getting 70-year-old ladies talking about football in the supermarket. It's a bit surreal, but it's such a lovely feeling."

Shelvey has ambitions of making Roy Hodgson's England squad for Euro 2016, and a lack of first-team football at the Liberty Stadium factored into his decision to move on.

He featured for England as a late substitute against France last November, but has seen Dele Alli and Ross Barkley overtake him in recent months, and concedes he'll need a strong finish to the season to force his way back into Hodgson's plans.

"That was a main part of me coming here, to try and get myself into the Euros squad for the summer," Shelvey added. "If I don't have a great season and don't get picked, so be it, but hopefully it will happen."

The midfielder said he felt a 'bit hard done by' after leaving Swansea under a cloud, claiming his style of play did not suit Swansea under Curtis, although the interim manager has said the player "was not hounded out of the club".

He was involved in a heated altercation with a supporter after Swansea's 3-2 defeat by Oxford in the FA Cup, leading Newcastle legend Alan Shearer to question his reputation in the wake of the transfer, but Shelvey insists he does not focus on the criticism.

"I don't really pay attention to what people say about me," he said. "Only I know the truth, and only I know what went on behind the scenes at the club so it's down to me. I couldn't really care less what people have got to say about me.

"I never came out and said once that I wanted to leave Swansea so people have no reason to have the hump with me. The club obviously wanted me out and they said I was for sale, so here I am."