Steve Claridge's verdict.
For what it's worth.
Steve, my club Liverpool have just signed Jonjo Shelvey, how good is he and how good can he be? Is he the heir to Steven Gerrard?
Gareth Aherne, Ireland
Is Shelvey the heir to Steven Gerrard? No. I've seen him three or four times this season and I'm not convinced he is that good, although I'm very rarely convinced by players who are that young.
He's only just turned 18 so I'm certainly not going to write him off but, at this stage, I think he is a million miles away from someone of Gerrard's class.
Shelvey turned down a move to Chelsea this time last year and I can't help thinking he should have done the same again this time around. He's not going to get a game in Liverpool's first team next season and, with moves like this, the best thing to do would be to loan him straight back to the Addicks so he gets games.
I'd rather play in Aldershot's first team than in Liverpool's reserves and that's not just because of what you learn from playing competitive senior football; you just don't feel part of the club unless you're playing regularly.
So, I'm not sure the move is the best thing for Shelvey. We've seen it happen countless times before where a player moves to a bigger club and gets lost, and the size of his fee won't mean anything because £1.7m is a drop in the water for the likes of Liverpool.
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