Former Swansea City winger Marvin Emnes has opened up about the time he nearly had a fight with “crazy” Jonjo Shelvey in training.
Emnes spent six years at Middlesbrough between 2008 and 2014, but that spell included two spells on loan with Swansea.
The Dutchman later signed for the Welsh club, where he played alongside Shelvey, who played for Swansea for three years before joining Newcastle United in 2016.
Emnes said he became firm friends with the midfielder, but only after a flare-up on the Swans training pitch in the 2013/14 season.
"You know he's actually crazy, right?" Emnes told Wales Online when asked by Shelvey.
"I remember the first time I came back for training, we were playing a small game. It was me, Leon Britton and a couple of others against Jonjo and another couple. I got the ball and the manager was just saying 'take him on, take him on'.
"I just kept going and going and he [Shelvey] got mad and the next minute he gave me a crazy tackle.
"We nearly had a fight there and then. This was my first session back!
"I told him, 'If you do that one more time, I'm going to f*** you up’.
"He never did it again after that, and we actually became friends.
"He's crazy, but he's a really good player."
Shelvey made 96 appearances over three seasons for Swansea, helping the Welsh club finish 12th, 8th and 12th in the Premier League.
He played in the Europa League during his first season with the club in 2013/14 under manager Michael Laudrup.
His performances in south Wales persuaded Newcastle to shell out £12million for his signature in January 2016, with the midfielder signing a five-and-a-half year contract.
Emnes, meanwhile, went on to play for Blackburn Rovers, Turkish side Akhisarspor and Vancouver Whitecaps in MLS.
