"Poor man's Hayden" - Many Newcastle fans don't want star "less athletic than Shelvey" to sign

Newcastle are reportedly interested in Arsenal’s Granit Xhaka but he is a transfer target that some fans aren’t keen on.

The troubled midfielder was stripped of the Arsenal captaincy earlier this week after a dispute with fans in the match against Crystal Palace, and The Times report that he will likely request a move away if he is left out of the next few matches.

It is believed the Magpies would seek a short-term deal as that would suit all parties involved, allowing them to pay just a portion of his £100,000-a-week wage, but despite that supporters still aren’t keen.

Some suggest he wouldn’t be an upgrade on what they currently have, comparing him to the likes Isaac Hayden and Jonjo Shelvey.

Interestingly, none raise the point of the bad attitude he displayed against his own fans, and are looking at things merely from a footballing perspective.

Here are some of the reactions from fans to the interest in Xhaka.

Doesn't have the legs to get up and down the pitch. He's less athletic than Shelvey.

— Liam Taylor (@27liamdavid) November 8, 2019

Why if we had 30m to spend would we waste it on a player not as good as what we have

— Ian Solo (@IanSolo75) November 8, 2019

Nah you’re ok

— Lee Hopkinson (@LeeHoppy16) November 8, 2019

This is possibly the one time I’d rather Ashley didn’t spend money

— Stephen Hetherington (@Steesh1985) November 8, 2019

No thanks. I’d rather keep Shelvey

— Scott 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (@scxttnufc) November 8, 2019

Not for me chef!

— Jason Sewell (@JasonSewell11) November 8, 2019

No… he’s a Poor man’s Hayden.

— @DAZ7952 (@DAZ7952) November 8, 2019

@ChRiSDuNkY please god no

— Cal Jones (@callumjones_8) November 8, 2019

Just Shelvey without the passing.

— Sean Mitchell (@SeanMitchell91) November 8, 2019