Jonjo Shelvey 17 next week

It's been all quiet on the Jonjo front in recent weeks after a flurry of speculation linking him with one club or another. Maybe things have died down because he's been out of the first team following a handful of promising appearances last month or maybe it was all largely conjecture? Either way, he will be expected to sign a relatively lucrative contract on Friday of next week (or very soon afterwards) when he reaches the grand old age of seventeen.

In a season of unrelenting disappointment and crashing financial fortunes there must be a real concern that we will be seen as ripe for the plucking and that Jonjo may be snatched away as soon as he is able to sign pro terms. The immediate rewards for him personally would presumably be greater elsewhere, even if his first-team opportunities would very likely be more limited. We would then be left to the mercies of a tribunal to decide what scant compensation we would be entitled to for nurturing Shelvey's talent.

Let's hope that we all get the boost of him committing himself to the Addick cause for the next couple of seasons where he can gain valuable first team experience and show us all why he is considered one of the brightest prospects in the game. At worst, perhaps we will agree a decent fee and get him loaned back for a year or two?