GEORGINIO WIJNLADUM might have left for Liverpool, but Jonjo Shelvey thinks Newcastle United should be excited about what Rafael Benitez has at his disposal rather than what he is losing.

Wijnaldum completed a £25m move to Liverpool after undergoing a medical at Melwood and yesterday it emerged Moussa Sissoko has suddenly forced himself into Real Madrid’s thinking after his impressive Euros outing for France.

Both of those are Newcastle’s two most saleable assets and the Magpies could recoup around the £50m mark if the two deals go through.

But Benitez’s efforts in gearing up his team for a crack at promotion to the Championship has gone smoothly, with Grant Hanley the latest addition and he follows Dwight Gayle, Matt Ritchie, Matz Sels and Isaac Hayden to St James’ Park.

Shelvey, a £12m buy from Swansea in January, said: “You look at the players that have come in this summer and that just underlines how a big a club this is.

“There are people who have come from Premier League clubs. You might think, ‘Why would they want to leave the Premier League’, but they see the potential here at Newcastle and want to be a part of it.

“Fair play to them for stepping down a league and trying to help this club get out of the situation that we got ourselves into. I’m sure with that added quality in our team, it will make us improve even more.”

Benitez is seeking further new signings but there is not a clamour from the players to leave, with the exception of Sissoko. Shelvey, who had hoped to keep Newcastle up after joining in January, is desperate to prove his worth in a black and white shirt.

Shelvey said: “Hopefully we’ll be back in the Premier League before too long, but we are where we are now and we can’t get ahead of ourselves. I’m not looking towards the future too much. The main thing is to get this club out of the Championship because that’s the minimum that we owe the fans.”

He added: “It is what it is, that’s football. I always wanted to stay here because I want to play for Newcastle United Football Club. That’s been the only thing in my mind, and fingers crossed I can get the opportunity off the gaffer to play week in week out next season and show him what I’m made of.”

Of the signings so far, Arsenal’s untried and untested midfielder Hayden is arguably the most surprising for £2.5m – but he will be intent on proving he can become a first team regular at Newcastle.

Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal boss, has explained his reasons for letting him go. Wenger said: “He couldn’t get the chance here and I decided to let him go and have an opportunity. At 21 years of age, you need to play or you stand still - and if you stand still you waste your career.

“He’s very intelligent and very good physically as well, he has good strength. I remember some games he played, like at West Brom in the League Cup where he did extremely well, and I gave him a chance to go up to Hull.

“It went quite well, they liked him and they wanted to buy him as well. I think Newcastle is a good opportunity for him.”