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Jonjo Shelvey was booed by fans in his last ever act as a Swansea City player.

His first few moments wearing a black and white shirt at St James’ Park will see him roared on to the field – and you can bet his every tackle will be cheered around the four corners of the famous old stadium.

Still just 23, Shelvey is an experienced head on young shoulders and a packed Press conference at the club’s Benton base did not seem to faze him in the slightest.

Instead, Shelvey’s message was clear. He isn’t the troublemaker that Swansea fans were making him out to be and he simply wants to lace up his boots and get back to letting his football do the talking.

Having been frozen out at Swansea he probably didn’t even feel the icy Tyneside breeze as he looked forward to a new challenge. Shelvey is in from the cold in football terms and has been guaranteed game-time with the Magpies.

He cut the figure of a relaxed man as he leant back in one of the changing rooms at Benton. Before he started the interview he switched his phone off to talk – as he put it – “business”. And you just get the feeling that Newcastle fans are going to love the no-nonsense midfield man.

When asked about his debut, he told the Chronicle: “I can’t wait to be honest. Even the warm-up will be magical.

“But the moment I come back in and pull on that famous black and white shirt for the first time for a game will be an unbelievable feeling. I’ll give my family a quick wave in the crowd then it will be down to business.”

At Swansea he found himself on the sidelines and enduring the fury of fans after the Welsh club were dumped out of the FA Cup at the hands of Oxford United. Coming to Newcastle has offered him a release from his recent troubles.

Shelvey said: “If you aren’t playing you come home and you are moody and angry. You don’t want to talk to people. It’s nice to be at a club that makes you feel welcome.

“Even around the city the fans knock on your window. It’s a brilliant feeling. I can talk all day long but the only way I can repay them is through performance.

“Once you go over the white line, it gives you belief.”

Shelvey was raised in east London’s Harold Hill.

It is an area of the capital renowned for drug problems and crime but Shelvey feels he has something in common already with the football-mad Tyneside public.

He said: “I just love football. There’s no better feeling than driving into work every day knowing you are going to be kicking a football around. It’s a job that I love.

“The fans here clearly love their football and I have never experienced that at any other club, they just love it. At Liverpool it was similar but I think the fans here are even bigger in terms of support.

“It’s a great club to be at. The city is brilliant and everything feels like a perfect fit.

“You’d only have to ask my family how miserable I was in the last four or five weeks. Since I have come up to Newcastle I have not stopped smiling. I want to go out and do things again. Around the house I have been smiling again and my character has changed.”

(Image: Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images)

Shelvey made it clear that Newcastle was the move he truly wanted this January. After being told he could leave Swansea he had his heart set on a move to the North-East.

He said: “It was a while ago when I first heard Newcastle wanted me but I started doing my research on the club and the area around the place.

“I didn’t realise how big the club was to be honest but it’s a great feeling to be here and I am a very fortunate boy that a club of Newcastle’s stature have shown interest in me.”

Shelvey also revealed he knocked back two clubs in London to sign for the Magpies.

He said: “I could have gone to clubs in London but I didn’t want to be in London, I wanted to get away from it.

“I thought there was no better fit for me in terms of the club here at Newcastle. There’s the stature of it and the passionate fans.

“With the intensity I have I think it matches the fans. Now, it’s down to me to show why the club bought me and paid the money they did. It’s up to me to repay that price tag.”

Shelvey has already had a taste of St James’ Park and the atmosphere after being paraded on the hallowed turf before the 3-3 draw with Manchester United.

And after hearing the reaction of the crowd as the last gasp equaliser went in, Shelvey says he’s already hooked.

He said: “It was a great feeling to see it go in. I was sitting in an executive box but some of the chants and songs around the stadium sounded so good.

“To see the fans jumping up all the time is a great experience. I haven’t really had that at any other ground. It must be fantastic to have 50,000 fans shouting your name.

“I can’t wait to be involved. When I was watching the game the other night I turned around to my dad and said: ‘I want to be out there’. That’s the type of arena I want to play my games in.

“Hopefully there will be many occasions like it.”