'Suits both parties': Scott Parker explains why Burnley opted to sign ex-Newcastle United man Jonjo Shelvey

The 32-year-old has penned a short-term deal until the end of the campaign following a successful trial period at Gawthorpe.

The former Newcastle United man will now battle it out with the likes of Josh Cullen, Josh Laurent, Hannibal and Josh Brownhill for a regular spot in the starting XI.

Opening up on why Burnley opted to make the move for Shelvey, Parker explained: “It suits both parties at this present moment in time.

“From my side, Jonjo came in last week to train with us and we instantly saw his quality.

“He’s a guy that's had many years in and around it and he’s still what, 32? So he's not at the back end of it. He's still got plenty left in him.

“He went off to Turkey and he's come back and I think we've seen, or certainly I've seen in three or four training sessions, and what I know of him and watching from him from afar, the quality he possesses.

“I think he helps us. I think he probably brings a little bit of something different to maybe what we've got in those positions.

“He brings experience and something to prove as well, coming back to England, so I'm delighted to have Jonjo with us now.

“Obviously he needs some training now to get him up to speed and hopefully he can have a big impact on the current squad.”

It’s not only Shelvey’s experience that attracted Parker to the former England international, it was also his creativity and his ability on the ball.

“On the pitch, there's X amount of games underneath Jonjo, he knows his way around a football pitch and he knows his way around promotion teams or teams that want to be operating in the top end of the league,” Parker added.

“I see him bringing huge qualities on the pitch for us. I think he offers something probably a little bit different to what we have.

“Oviously off the pitch, it goes without saying we have a young squad that are going to need senior players who have been around it to support and help get us through these next 20-odd games.”

When asked how the move came about, Parker added: “He’s not someone I knew. It came about via some people who obviously suggested that maybe it could be an option and I liked the idea.

“Full credit to Jonjo. I asked if he could come in and train with us and there's probably a lot of players that wouldn’t have. In fact, I've had many a player in my time turn down that opportunity to come in and train for many reasons.

“Jonjo was the first to say: ‘of course I will if you need to see me’. He's done that, hence why now he's signed and he's part of our group.”