Why Jonjo Shelvey Is the Swansea Player Manchester United Must Shut Down

Swansea City have plenty of attacking talent, but for Manchester United to neuter their threat in Sunday's match, they would be wise to focus on shutting down Jonjo Shelvey.

He has had an excellent start to the season.

It is a far cry from December 2014, when Swansea manager Garry Monk criticised Shelvey after the midfielder picked up a booking against Aston Villa. Monk said at the time, per BBC Sport: "Jonjo has to wise up because that yellow card came from laziness and he has to be better than that."

Monk appeared exasperated when he said Shelvey had to "learn quickly" and added: "I have spoken to him a number of times." 

Speaking ahead of the forthcoming clash with United, Shelvey said of this incident, per Riath Al-Samarrai of the Daily Mail:

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I have always been confident in my ability on the ball and I don't think anyone should ever doubt me in terms of that. But I know what people were saying last year in terms of picking up silly bookings (eight in the 2014-15 season). It was more just stupidity on my part and the gaffer came out and said his bit in the press and it was either going to go one way or the other.

I could either say to him, 'Whatever, I'm not interested in listening to you', and just sit on the bench, but I want to play football and the only way I thought to play for this man is to do what he is asking for me to do. I went away and used the four games I was banned to take a step back and work extra on the training ground. I've felt that I've been superb ever since then.

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His assertion that he's "been superb ever since then" is a bold one, but it is backed up by his numbers so far this season. Having played every minute of Swansea's three games so far this season, he has produced more key passes per game than any other player in the league—a very impressive 4.3, per WhoScored.com.

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Allied to that, he has produced an average of 2.7 crosses per game—the third highest average in the league, extraordinary for a deep-lying midfielder. His effective chance creation has not come at the expensive of passing consistency either, as he has been giving away less than 14 per cent of his passes, on average.

As would be expected from Shelvey, he has also taken plenty of shots at goal. Only one has been off target so far, with the rest being either on target or blocked. 

As mentioned, Shelvey is hardly Swansea's only dangerous player, and neither is he their only in-form player. Both Bafetimbi Gomis and Andre Ayew have more league goals than the entire United squad between them so far this season, for example.

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Jefferson Montero has been impressive too, averaging 2.7 key passes, three dribbles and two crosses per game.

However, stopping Shelvey should lessen the effectiveness of the more advanced players, cutting off their service at the source. And given United's resources in defensive midfield, that should be an achievable goal. Morgan Schneiderlin could be crucial in that role, as he is well suited to getting close to Shelvey and putting in important tackles.

Of course, United have to worry about more than just one threat from Swansea.

However, Montero will be up against Matteo Darmian, who has been extremely effective this season. The same could be said for Ayew's battle with Luke Shaw.

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Gomis may get some joy out of Daley Blind at centre-back, but as yet Blind has been very effective. Gylfi Sigurdsson's season has not caught fire yet, but United will have to be cautious about him, too.

However Shelvey is the form player for the Swans at the moment, and for Louis van Gaal's side to get an important away win, they will have to shut down the former Liverpool man. It will not be an easy task, but it is one United should be up to if they have real intentions of a title challenge this season.

All advanced statistics per WhoScored.com