Swansea's Jonjo Shelvey hoping for successful Premier League season ahead

“Chicken and broccoli. That’s all I will eat. I do need to try other food. My missus is always on at me to try other things. She gets fed up with cooking me chicken and broccoli.”

This insight into the culinary habits of a particular Premier League footballer was quite revealing. Swansea City’s Jonjo Shelvey is going to enterprising lengths to improve his career and, if successful, it’s something that may catch on. The 23 year old has decided to hire a chef to cook for him at home, morning, noon and night. He’s never been a naturally careful eater, which is why he could only really come up with chicken and broccoli when I asked him what healthy foods he likes.

“My agent is interviewing a few chefs at the moment,” he explained. “I sat down with the manager, the chairman, my agent and my Dad before I signed the new contract and we spoke about getting a chef in. We felt the main area of my game that needed improving was my fitness and that stems from what you eat. I’m hoping we’ll have one in very soon and it will be interesting to see how it goes. I’m looking forward to trying it out.”

Shelvey was keen to point out that although the chef will be well remunerated, reports of a £65,000 salary that appeared in the local press are well wide of the mark. Not every footballer would be so willing to address a fitness problem and it’s to Shelvey’s great credit that he talked about this with such candour when we sat down at the Liberty Stadium ahead of Saturday’s first home game of the season against Newcastle. A weakness for finishing off his little kid’s chocolate bars has been addressed and now he wants to go the extra mile in his quest to become that bit leaner.

Chelsea - Swansea talking points

Chelsea began their title defence with a 2-2 draw at home to Swansea.

“I didn’t do the whole fitness thing properly last year. My eating wasn’t great and there’s probably no better way than getting a chef in who knows what to cook and knows what you should eat in order to be ready for a match,” he continued. “I don’t want to finish the game with any regrets and look back thinking I could have done this or that better. If I’m fit I can go and stamp my authority on the game for 90 minutes and not just 70 minutes before the manager subs me off.

“I got a bit too comfortable last season because I knew I would be playing every week. This season is a bit different as there are two people competing for every position and if you’re not performing well then this manager won’t pick you. So I want to make sure I give myself the best chance of playing.”

Shelvey became Charlton Athletic’s youngest ever player when he made his debut at just 16 years and 59 days old. A £2m move to Liverpool followed in 2010 but his Anfield career never really took off, at a time when the club itself was in a major period of transition. Leaving such a big club could be seen as a downward step but it has proved a successful one for both Shelvey and The Swans. Taking his game to that next level is the new target. And that means finding more consistency.  To watch, Shelvey has always come across as an unpredictable player on the pitch.

“Yeah I am, but I don’t necessarily think that’s a good thing,” he admitted. “I feel I have the ability to dictate the pace of a game, create things and be a matchwinner, but I also think the defensive side of my game needs to improve. I got a lot of rash bookings last season with some late tackles and it’s something I’ve spoken to the manager, my Dad and my agent about. A lot of it was to do with fitness which is why I want to cover every angle in trying to improve my game.”

Shelvey’s father has been a key figure in his development. The player readily admits to dreading the car journeys home after games early on in his career when his Dad poured forth his thoughts on every performance. But Shelvey also recognises the benefits of a paternal driving force.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way. He’s been my idol growing up and I have so much to thank him for in my career. He wants to know everything about my training and playing and he’s played such a big part in my career.”

Swansea got off to a very solid start in their league campaign with a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge. Building on the continued progress made under a succession of managers at the Liberty Stadium will be hard for Garry Monk in his second full season, but Shelvey is adamant improvement will be made.

“With this manager he’s constantly looking at the game and making us work on different things, he wants us to try different styles. We are professional footballers so we have to adapt to different situations if we’re going to make progress.”

And for Shelvey, that has meant taking a novel approach to his lifestyle as a professional footballer.

Watch the full Jonjo Shelvey feature on Soccer Saturday from midday on Sky Sports News HQ.