Newcastle United midfielder Jonjo Shelvey has admitted regrets at leaving Liverpool.

Shelvey joined the Reds as an 18-year-old in the summer of 2010 but despite making 69 appearances over his next three seasons at the club grew frustrated at not being given consistent first-team runs in the side.

"I was only 21 when I left," he told Sky Sports. "I don't think you would find many other players who go there at 17 and leave at 21 and I think that speaks a lot of what I'm like as a character. I wasn't happy playing one or two games then coming out of the team. I wanted to carry on playing week in, week out.

"I'd been on loan at Blackpool, and at Charlton I'd been obviously playing at such an early age. I don't think that helped because you get that knack for playing games and constantly being in the team. When you're playing once and then not playing for six games, I don't care what any footballer says, you don't feel involved. You don't feel part of the team.

"I think that was the feeling I wanted but, in hindsight, should I have stayed? Probably, yeah. Even if it was only for another year or two, just to see how things changed. But it is what it is at the end of the day."