Is it time for Newcastle midfielder Jonjo Shelvey to get another chance with England?

It is not unknown for Championship players to play for England, but it remains highly unusual. Nevertheless, after Gareth Southgate spent last week repeatedly bemoaning the lack of English talent available to him in the Premier League, perhaps the nation’s interim boss will be persuaded to pay more attention to the second tier than the vast majority of his recent predecessors.

If he does, St James’ Park will surely be his first port of call, with Shelvey’s name at the top of his scouting list. The 26-year-old won the most recent of his six England caps in a friendly with France last November, but while he has subsequently tumbled out of the top-flight, his current form is markedly superior to that which he was displaying in the months leading up to his January move to Newcastle.

Watching him control Saturday’s comprehensive win over Brentford from a deep-lying midfield role, with his ability to switch the play with pinpoint 40-yard passes bamboozling the opposition defence, it was tempting to wonder if Wayne Rooney could benefit from watching Shelvey at work.

Rooney appears to want to reinvent himself as the type of player Shelvey has become. Just with an expensive hair transplant to replace the bald head.

The difference between the duo is that Shelvey is a natural in the role, setting up all three of his side’s goals in Saturday’s victory, whereas Rooney constantly appears to be playing out of position as he strives to prolong his career. Over the next few months, it will be interesting to see whether Southgate is brave enough to come to the same conclusion.

“We analyse the characteristics of all our players, and in Jonjo, we have a player who can deliver the final pass,” said Magpies manager Rafael Benitez. “We have other midfield players, like (Isaac) Hayden, who can play in that position, but Jonjo is a player who is technically good and when he plays well, the team plays better.

“He is doing well, he has confidence, and he has worked very hard during the summer to be fit and at the maximum level. He has a lot of quality, so hopefully he can carry on with this vision and control of the game. If he does, then the strikers will have more chances because the team will play much better.”

Shelvey has been the stand-out player in the Championship for the majority of the first two months of the season, although the former Liverpool and Swansea midfielder is clearly benefitting from the finishing prowess of those in front of him.

Having set up his side’s opening goal against Brentford with an inviting cross that was converted by Ciaran Clark, he was the key creator behind the two opportunities that enabled Dwight Gayle to move to the top of the Championship goalscoring charts as he took his tally for the season to nine.

Shelvey’s searching 16th-minute pass caused confusion at the heart of the Brentford defence, and two failed attempts to clear resulted in Gayle swooping on a loose ball to sweep a crisp shot into the corner.

At the start of the second half, Yoan Gouffran sent Shelvey scampering down the left-hand side, and Gayle tapped home the midfielder’s low cross from the edge of the six-yard box.

Scott Hogan clawed a goal back for Brentford after Lewis McLeod’s corner was flicked on at the front post, but Newcastle were comfortable winners as they dominated for long spells.

Jack Colback dovetailed neatly with Shelvey at the base of midfield, Gouffran produced another energetic and effective performance on the left, and Christian Atsu ran his opponent, Andreas Bjelland, ragged on the right-hand side.

The Chelsea loanee could do with brushing up his crossing, but he is clearly a player with immense promise, and some of his link-up play with full-back Vurnon Anita was particularly pleasing.

How much involvement he has once Matt Ritchie returns from an illness remains to be seen, with Benitez surely targeting Newcastle’s forthcoming games as an opportunity to cement a place in the top two. Starting with tomorrow’s trip to Barnsley, Newcastle’s next seven matches are all against teams in the bottom 14 positions in the table.

“We know that no game is easy and the season won’t be easy, and that’s the message we give to the players,” countered Benitez, who took time out from his pre-match preparations to attend a Newcastle United Foundation coaching session on Friday night with skipper Jamaal Lascelles. “They have to be ready for every game.

“We didn’t have any over-confidence (against Brentford). We had chances to score a fourth, so it wasn’t like we sat back because we had three or four chances at the end. There’s no danger of complacency – we are constantly pushing the players.”