Liverpoolfc.tv enlisted the help of Glenn Southam from independent fansite Charltonlife.com to get the lowdown on our new midfielder.
Jonjo has been described as one of the best young talents in England - is that a fair hype?
The hype Jonjo has had attributed to him is very fair indeed. His raw talent is there for all to see, even if us Charlton fans have only seen it in glimpses throughout his short career. Having watched him in the Charlton and England youth setup, he is usually a cut above the rest and has always been 'advanced' beyond his years.
What are his main attributes?
He is tenacious, hard working and very willing to get stuck in. He has excellent vision and is able to see a pass earlier than most. He makes many late runs into the box a la Paul Scholes/Tim Cahill, but he also has the ability to shoot from distance. He simply loves playing football and is always going to give 110 per cent whether it is a training match or in front of 50,000 people.
What type of lad is he?
Shy and unassuming off the pitch, enthusiastic and determined on it. His head is screwed on and has a great family behind him which was demonstrated when he signed his pro contract with us rather than running off to Chelsea for the big bucks early on. There are times when he can be rash in the tackle but this is purely down to youthful exuberance.
Which current Barclays Premier League midfielder would you most liken him to?
His attacking ability and desire to drive forward suit him more to an attacking midfielder. Out of current players he is most similar to your own Steven Gerrard - I think Jonjo has even said he models himself on your captain.
Charlton have had some good young talents in the past, notably Scott Parker - where would you rank Shelvey amongst those types of names? Is he your best ever product?
It is very difficult to answer this question as we simply have not had the chance to see him play in the first team as much. Parker performed consistently at the highest level for us in the Barclays Premier League. We will only know whether he is our best ever product in a few years' time. We have had some great talent come through our system who are still plying their trade at the highest level - Scott Parker, Jermaine Defoe, Lee Bowyer, Paul Konchesky, Michael Turner to name a few. Will Jonjo be even better? Maybe. My gut feeling is that he can be better than Parker as he has all the same attributes - but can score more goals.
How disappointed are you to see him leave?
Of course we are disappointed to see him go, but what hurts/angers people more is that we have not seen as much of Jonjo in the red of Charlton as we would have liked. He simply has not played much for us - whether that is for tactical reasons or, in a strange way, he is just too good for Charlton at the moment. Gone are the days when Charlton could stave off the advances of clubs like Liverpool but we wish Jonjo all the best. I just wish we could have seen more of him as he is going to be a special, special talent.
How much will training with the likes of Steven Gerrard and Javier Mascherano improve him?
He might teach them a few things! Seriously though, it can only help his development. He has the natural talent but being around world class players is just going to improv
What did you make of him the first time you saw him play?
I have seen him play for the Charlton and England youth set-ups and he was superb, but when he made his debut against Coventry as a 16 year old I honestly cannot remember a Charlton player dominating a midfield as much as he did (since Parker did the same against Chelsea on Boxing Day years ago!). He was superb.
How has he matured?
Jonjo is still a raw talent and this is still evident in a lot of his play but he has become more aware of his role in the team. There's still plenty of room to learn the 'tactical' side of the game and I'm sure he will.
What do you regard as your best memory of him?
It has to be that Coventry game. He was everywhere on the pitch and was superb. It was the moment when I think all Charlton fans thought "We've got a real player here".
Is he destined to become one of the Barclays Premier League's best?
Probably a bit too early to tell at the moment but he needs to be given the chance and after that his skills will come to the forefront. His passion and determination to be great really stands out - he is not going to be distracted or become a prima donna, he just wants to play. With good development and regular chances there is no reason he cannot be a regular in the PL for years to come.
And a full England international?
As above but why not? He has been involved in the England set up at all age groups. I think the move to Liverpool will see him join up with the U21s in the near future and then we'll see. There are a lot of good midfielders around at the moment and he may have to wait for his chance.
And finally, where do you see him in five years' time?
I think I speak for all Charlton fans when I say we want to see him as successful as he possibly can be at Liverpool. With enough chances and guidance at Anfield I see him as a natural long-term successor to Gerrard in the current set up. There is no reason why he couldn't be gearing up for the 2014 World Cup trying to retain the trophy for England!
Rafael Benitez believes the capture of Jonjo Shelvey from Charlton Athletic is an exciting one for the future of the club.
The England youth international will officially join the Reds on Monday, May 10, after he passed a medical and agreed personal terms.
"In the last two or three years we have been worried about the lack of English players at the club so we wanted to bring English players in," Benitez told Liverpoolfc.tv.
"We haven't had that many come from the Academy with the level that we wanted for the first team so we are now trying to find players.
"We have a couple of English players we have signed for the Academy, and Shelvey is another option we have now.
"We have been monitoring this player for one year and we decided the time was right now to bring him here.
"He was very young and only 16 when he made his first team debut for Charlton. He is a player with quality that we can work with and I think he will be a very good addition."
Charlton Athletic's academy director Steve Gritt believes Liverpool's acquisition of Jonjo Shelvey will prove to be a shrewd piece of business.
The Reds moved to snap-up the England youth international from the Addicks earlier this month for an initial £1.7m with further potential payments depending on domestic and international appearances.
Shelvey became Charlton's youngest player when he made his first-team debut against Barnsley in April 2008 at the age of just 16 years and 59 days.
In total, he made 48 appearances and scored eight goals at The Valley before making the move to Anfield - and Gritt is convinced the 18-year-old has the potential to develop into a top-class footballer.
"Even before he made his debut, we knew Jonjo was a special player," he told LFC Weekly.
"He's the kind that only comes through an academy system once in a while. From a very young age, everybody at the club believed that he would progress to become a Premier League player because he had so much potential. Now I am certain he'll fulfil all that early promise.
"Maybe he got into the first team a bit quicker than we expected. Alan Pardew (Charlton's former manager) has to receive a lot of credit for plunging him in there when maybe some other managers wouldn't. But it was still up to Jonjo to go out and prove he was going to be a good player.
"The last few years have seen development in terms of height and strength. I'm sure he's still got a bit of weight to put on and when he does he'll have that Premier League presence that is a minimum requirement these days."
Shelvey's electric performances for Charlton saw him compared to Liverpool's very own talismanic star, Steven Gerrard.
While Gritt acknowledges the similarities, he admits the midfielder has some way to go before he can measure up to the Reds' captain.
"It has been said in the past, and I have to agree that he has a bit of Gerrard in him," he said.
"He can get box to box, he's got a very good range of passing and he can see an opportunity where others can't. He's the kind of player that if he sees a goalkeeper off his line 30-40 yards out, he's precocious enough to shoot.
"If he's got any faults, he'd probably admit that he's got to improve on the defensive side of the game. Because he's such an attacking player, naturally there are going to be aspects of his defensive game that he'll have to improve. I'm sure he will."
The move to Liverpool represents a big step on the ladder in Shelvey's career, but Gritt feels the move will help - rather than hinder - his progress.
He said: "The move to Liverpool will prove to him that he's a good player. I can't imagine Jonjo ever having doubts about his own ability because he's a very confident lad.
"But the move to Liverpool will help him understand his game more because playing with better players at a higher level can only improve him.
"I don't think anybody has seen the best of him yet and I'm hoping now to see him blossom into an established international player."
He added: "All things being well, Jonjo will become the fine player we all believe he can become at Liverpool and Charlton will make some extra money from his achievements. I'm confident he'll become a top-class player."
Liverpool's Jonjo Shelvey in a Video Clip :
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