RAFAEL BENITEZ hopes there is still time for Jonjo Shelvey to make a late surge into England’s World Cup squad, as he believes the Newcastle United midfielder is “different” to any of the other contenders for a place in Gareth Southgate’s plans.

On last Saturday’s Match of the Day, Danny Murphy described Shelvey as “the best passer in the country” and claimed he would take the 26-year-old to Russia if he was asked to select the squad. His co-host, Alan Shearer, agreed, having previously expressed surprise that Shelvey was overlooked for last month’s friendlies with Holland and Italy while Bournemouth’s Lewis Cook was handed a full international debut.

Shelvey won the last of his six senior caps in a friendly with France in November 2015, and has been consistently ignored during Southgate’s spell in charge of the national side.

However, with England’s midfield plans for the summer still in a state of flux, Shelvey continues to be touted as an attractive alternative to the likes of Cook, Adam Lallana and Jack Wilshere, who are challenging for a place on the plane to Russia.

Shelvey’s ability to hit pinpoint 50-yard passes from a deep-lying position enables him to stand apart from the vast majority of his midfield rivals, and could offer England a different World Cup option, particularly if Southgate persists with his current plan of playing with five at the back.

Benitez appeared uncertain of Shelvey’s abilities in the first half of the season, with Mikel Merino and Isaac Hayden regularly appearing ahead of the Londoner. However, Shelvey has started eight of Newcastle’s last ten games, with his consistently strong form proving a key factor as his side have pulled away from the bottom three.

“He is different, so he can be a good player for any squad,” said Benitez, ahead of this afternoon’s Premier League game at Leicester City. “If you have the motivation of the World Cup, I think he will be great.

“I’m sure the manager will think the other players will be great too. But my feeling is that if he is just going there focused, then he can be a great player.

“It’s not my job to talk about what the England manager has to do or whatever, but what I like about Jonjo is that he is different from the players that they have already and he can do a lot of things.

“For three weeks, he can be a very important player if he is a part of things. But it’s not my decision, he (Southgate) knows his group, the players he has, what he wants to do. As a Newcastle United manager, is he a very good player? Yes I think so.”

He is also a player who appears to have learned how to curb the temperamental excesses that have proved costly in the past.

Shelvey’s hot-headed nature was apparent on the opening day of the season as he was dismissed against Tottenham, and December’s red card against Everton means he is one of only two Premier League players to have been sent off twice this season.

However, since seeing red against the Toffees, he has only picked up one yellow card in the space of 12 games, with his work with a sports psychologist appearing to pay dividends.

In the last couple of months, Shelvey has been making extensive notes both before and after a game, chronicling what he has been doing well and what he needs to improve, and the process appears to have made him a more level-headed character.

He admits his mental development remains a work in progress, but Benitez feels the self-contained nature of a three-week tournament could help bring the best out of him.

“It’s true that he is quite focused at the minute, and I think he would be even better for this kind of competition (the World Cup),” said the Newcastle boss. “You know you have to stay really focused on the game, without any distraction.

“You don’t have the things over ten months that can prove a distraction - it’s just three weeks and that’s it. We’re pleased with him at the moment, and we’re just thinking about his future. He’s doing well, and we can forget about the past.”

While Shelvey has been one of the big winners in terms of Benitez’s team selection in the last few months, his presence in the starting line-up has limited the involvement of both Merino and Hayden.

The former was touted as one of the finds of the summer in the early months of the campaign, but has started just two of Newcastle’s last ten games.

That has led to speculation linking him with a potential move to Athletic Bilbao at the end of the season, and his Basque heritage makes him especially attractive to the La Liga side, who only select players from the Basque region.

Benitez is not surprised by the speculation, but having pushed for Merino’s recruitment from Borussia Dortmund last summer, the Magpies manager is adamant the midfielder will not be allowed to leave.

“I don’t need to talk too much about his future,” he said. “He just has train well and be available because we have talked in the past about how he is doing.

“His father was in Spain (at Newcastle’s recent training camp), and we were talking about him. So we share a lot of information.

“It’s fine. It’s just a question about where he is from – the Basque country – he will always have attention from Real Sociedad and Bilbao because they do not have too many players, especially at his level. You cannot stop that, but there is no suggestion (he wants to leave) and he is training well.”