Former Arsenal man Hayden has linked up with the England under-21 squad this week and believes that Shelvey deserves to be considered for a return to the full squad on the back of his majestic performances in the Magpies' engine room.Hayden and Shelvey - who has six caps for his country, but hasn't represented his country for almost a year - have played together in each of Newcastle's last four league games and United have won them all.

And 21-year-old Hayden told nufcTV: "He's a very good player, Jonjo. I'd say he's the best central midfielder in the Championship.

"I think everybody who's playing in that position can aspire to be at that level and I think if he plays at the level he's been playing at for the last few games then an England call-up wouldn't be too far away. It's a privilege to play with him.

"It's enjoyable, he's good on the ball and I think we dovetail each other quite well."

By his own admission, Hayden suffered a slight dip in form in September after his superb start to life at St. James' Park.

However, the Chelmsford-born youngster has been back to his best in recent weeks - and has praised Rafa Benitez for getting him there.

"Before the last international break I'd played a lot of minutes and there were a lot of Saturday-Tuesday games," explained Hayden. "It just took its toll, I guess, on my body and the manager noticed, picked up little things of what why style of play's like in training, and felt that I was a bit tense.

"He came up to me and was honest and I appreciated that. I went away to the international break wanting to just go and enjoy myself and hopefully get a cap. I did that and I came back with more confidence and I've taken that into the next set of games.

"The only way I'm going to get picked for England is if I'm playing for Newcastle so for me it was imperative that I came back after the last international break with a refreshed mind and focused on the next set of games.

"I think I've done that and we've had a few positive results as a team. As a team we've performed quite well over the last set of fixtures but now it's the next international break so we're going to have to refocus when everyone gets back and then go again for the next set of fixtures."

Hayden won his first England under-21 cap in last month's 5-0 win against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Aidy Boothroyd's side face Italy at Southampton's St. Mary's Stadium on Thursday, then take on France in Paris on Monday and the Newcastle midfielder said: "That gives us a good test going into the Euros next summer.

"I always look forward to going away with England. It's a great honour to get called up and to represent your country.

"I've been in and around that squad now for a few years and it was good to get my first cap in the last international break but I always felt that it was coming - it was just a matter of actually getting a chance to play and I thought I did quite well.

"Luckily enough, I've kept my place in the squad for this next set of games and hopefully I can build on that last performance with a few more good ones."