Former England and Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson believes Jonjo Shelvey has the ability to drag Newcastle to Premier League safety.
Shelvey, who is Newcastle's top scorer this term, made his long-awaited comeback from injury during Saturday's 0-0 draw with Burnley and was at the heart of all things positive for the Magpies at St James' Park.
The former England international was partnered alongside Isaac Hayden in the centre of midfield as Steve Bruce replaced Sean Longstaff and Nabil Bentaleb who had been holding down starting berths in the heart of midfield.
And Merson believes Shelvey has to play every week between now and the end of the season, comparing his influence at Newcastle to the that of his Sky Sports colleague Matt Le Tissier on Southampton during the nineties.
"I would always play him," Merson said on Gillette Soccer Saturday.
"If you want to stay up you need somebody with the X Factor. You can't just have 11 hard working players and nick something, you need someone with a bit of creativity.
"Tiss sits here every week and Southampton would have been relegated every season if it wasn't for him.
"He had the X Factor to get them goals and that is what Shelvey has, he has something out of the ordinary.
"When you have got someone like Shelvey to pass the ball and you have pace to burn up front like Newcastle have, they have players who can get on the end of it.
"I think they will stay up. Two more wins means other teams down there need to win four or five games and they are down there for a reason."
Merson's colleague Phil Thompson agreed, insisting he has to start for Newcastle - particularly at St James' Park.
"I think Jonjo sometimes sort of runs and lounges about and people look at him and think he is not really bothered.
"But at home you can enjoy him. With players like [Allan] Saint-Maximin, he can be their match-winner sometimes.
"But when he is playing you don't know what's going to happen. If you are a centre-half you make movements and then he checks back and checks back.
"With Shelvey a little bit deeper he will play that ball forward. At home, he has to play every game."
